A Hand to Hold - Part Two - Never Ending Universe

[3:30 P.M] Retention Island, 13th November 2013

“Oi, that’s my foot!”

“Sorry!” Dan said sheepishly. The duo had stumbled through an open door, into a dark room, struggling to navigate through the gloom. They had managed to step on each other’s foot twice, and crash into a table four times before Dan finally found a light switch and flicked it on.

Bright fluorescent lighting abruptly bathed the room, blinding the pair for a few seconds. Once their sight adjusted, they looked around at their surroundings. The room was a canteen, with cold wooden flooring, garishly yellow wallpaper and rows upon rows of wooden tables with a stack of chairs atop. Condiment bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise lay unused in the middle of each table, next to a stack of dining knives and forks.

Dan and Alfie shared a look, and stepped through the door archways connecting the room to the second part of the canteen, which had an identical layout, apart from the door connected to a serving counter that led into a kitchen.

“How many people do you think lived here?” Dan speculated, running an eye over the multiple chairs. "Looks like a military base. I thought it was supposed to be a home?"

Alfie shrugged. “How come they’re all colour blind?” he asked mockingly, motioning towards the peeling yellow wallpaper.

Dan shrugged in return. When nothing of interest could be found, they both walked through the next door, into the kitchen.

“It’s bloody freezing,” Alfie complained. Dan admitted he had a point, tugging the sleeves of his shirt tighter around his thin frame to ward off the bitter chill.

The kitchen barely resembled a kitchen at all, and was more of a stainless steel workstation which was, ironically, stained with blotches of grime and bacteria. It was also almost completely empty; the sole distinction was a black kettle resting on one of the counters.

There was a loud crash to Dan’s right, and he whirled around to see Alfie staring at a black frying pan with wide eyes, looking like a child who had knocked over their mother’s most expensive vase.

Alfie looked up at Dan and mustered a half-hearted shrug. “Oops?” he said without remorse.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Well done,” he said dryly, with an edge of precise, carefully-calculated wit.

Alfie’s expression soured, and he opened his mouth, probably to hurl insults, but Dan quickly looked away and pointed at a counter.

“It’s weird,” he said.

“Huh?” Alfie responded in bewilderment. He was only paying half-attention; something else had caught his interest.

Dan touched the workstation thoughtfully. “This is… er, stainless steel, right?” He nodded to himself in confirmation. “But look at it. Stains and everything. It’s weird, ironic.”

Alfie, who had been quietly shuffling across the room, stopped and smirked. “You’re moist.”

Dan rolled his eyes, plotting a retort, but the words died in his throat when he noticed Alfie had wandered over to the cabinets above the worktops and started rummaging through them. “What are you doing?” he asked in bemusement.

Alfie left the cabinets and kneeled to rummage through the bottom cupboards insteads. A few minutes later, he surfaced with furrowed eyebrows, looking puzzled. "Nah, this place is messed up."

"What d'you mean?"

Alfie, who had been sitting in a manner that obscured the cupboard, moved to the left. Dan faltered, stunned by the sheer emptiness, and the lack of food.

"Where's all the food?"

“I’m supposed to have lived on this island all my life. I’ve never quite believed that,” Cassandra admitted. “My very own island. It sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? A child’s fantasy. The unattainable. The exciting.”

Sarah Jane carefully edged closer. Cassandra’s words made no sense to her, but the tension had noticeably subsided, so she remained silent.

“And before me, there was my family. My ancestors. This house has been standing for decades, and my family has owned it for generations.”

“But you don’t believe that, either,” Sarah Jane realised, picking up on the hesitancy in Cassandra’s tone.

“Yes,” Cassandra nodded in confirmation. “Carter always tells me unfailingly that this house is mine, but I’m never inclined to believe him.”

“Why?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You learn not to take everything at face-value when you reach my age.” Cassandra sighed heavily. “This house has been in my family’s ownership for years. Generations. I’m an old woman, I’ve had family, and a quiet life.” She laughed ruefully. “Sometimes I just can’t think. They say it’s because I’m old and senile, but I know something isn’t right. I know for a fact that I haven’t travelled in years! And I don’t ever recall leaving this island for a funeral, so Sophie must be here somewhere.”

“Sophie?” Sarah Jane asked, confused.

“My daughter,” Cassandra clarified. She turned around, and scrutinised Sarah Jane. “You don’t strike me as a foolish woman.”

“I’m not, most of the time.” Sarah Jane looked away, pained. “I keep making mistakes today. I can’t help it. I kept getting distracted.”

“Bad day?”

“Bad day, every time this year,” Sarah Jane smiled forlornly.

“Ah, one of those days.” Cassandra nodded, a fleeting sympathy flashing across her face, quickly replaced by a steadfast inquisitiveness. “Tell me, Sarah Jane, how it all makes sense. This island isn’t as big as Carter claims it to be, and this is the only plot of land suitable for a burial site. So, you tell me, how is it possible for my Sophie to be buried on this island —”

“— when there are no graves…” Sarah Jane said with dawning realisation, running an eye over the smooth patch of land Cassandra had stared at.

“We gotta find Sarah Jane,” Dan said resolutely. He and Alfie had left the kitchen behind them, and were power-walking through the corridor, hurrying back to the foyer. Dan lagged behind Alfie, who strode forward with purpose.

They rounded the corner, almost careering straight into Beth. Alfie yelped in surprise, and jumped back a little. Beth and Dan both stared at him, struggling to contain their laughter.

“Nice one,” Beth said.

“Yeah, macho man,” Dan added.

Alfie coughed awkwardly, trying to hold onto his dignity. “Shut up,” he muttered. “We ain’t got time for this, remember?”

Dan sobered at the thought. “Right,” he agreed.

Beth’s eyes lit up in recollection. “Oh, yeah. I found this.” She produced the screwdriver from her pocket and held it out for her two friends to see. “It was in the lounge.”

“And you nicked it?” Alfie raised an inquisitive brow.

“It was randomly behind the cushions!” Beth said defensively. “Someone was probably trying to hide it. It’s weird.”

“That’s not the only weird thing,” Dan murmured. “We found the kitchen, and it’s empty. Literally empty. No food, nothing.”

Beth shuddered. “We gotta get out of here, quick.”

“What’s up with you?” Alfie questioned. “Thought you lot were mad about this stuff.”

“Mm, you can go off something when you binge Corpse Party with Zoe,” Beth replied anxiously.

Alfie looked around in puzzlement, as if he realised something important was missing. “Where’s Zoe at, anyway?”

“Dunno.”

“Hey, Zoe!” Alfie bellowed loudly, his voice echoing across the old halls. No response. He tried again, only to receive the same result. He frowned. “Where’s she at?”

Beth put the screwdriver away, and produced her phone from her pocket.

“Going on Twitter for X and Y updates?” Dan inquired teasingly. “‘Cos now isn’t the time.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “We can get Sentinel to tell us where Zoe is,” she informed the boys, as if it were obvious.

“Oh, yeah,” Dan realised.

"Huh," Alfie grunted unintelligibly, storing away the fact for later use.

“13-B-R,” Beth called out, holding the phone out. Sentinel’s cascade of colours soon materialised on Beth’s screen, pulsing like a beating heart.

“Oh, it’s you lot,” Sentinel said grumpily. “Of course it is. Who else would interrupt me at such a time? I’m busy, you know. Doing important stuff. I don’t have time to waste my processing speed on you! It’s important research, you know. I don’t suppose you would, considering all you lot ever do is play games all day, every day.”

Beth rolled her eyes at his petulant behaviour, while Dan nodded sheepishly.

“Who the hell are you, anyway?” Alfie demanded, his eyes narrowed in confusion. He hadn’t actually been informed of Sentinel’s role in their team. In the flurry of events that had overcome Foxgrove, it had become something the group had simply forgotten about.

“Me?” Sentinel scoffed with an air of pride. “I’m Sentinel--a super-intelligent being far beyond the comprehension of your young adolescent mind.”

Alfie snorted. “Mate, you’re a budget Siri.”

“How dare you!” Sentinel whirred angrily, affronted. He calmed down, and snidely added, “I gotta hand it to you, though. You’ve only been around for five seconds and you suddenly think you’re a hard man.”

Alfie scowled. “You batty little s—”

“Sentinel,” Beth interjected firmly. “We need your help to find Zoe.”

“Zoe?” Sentinel lapsed into silence for a brief second. “She’s in the basement.”

“The basement?” Dan shared a look with Beth and Alfie. “What’s she doing down there?”

“I don’t know, there’s no cameras in this place, but it’s the only other place in the building with life-signs! For now, go fetch her and find Sarah Jane. Peace out.” With that, Sentinel disappeared from Beth’s screen.

“I didn’t even know this place had a basement.” Beth frowned.

“Same,” Dan chimed in. “What’s she doing down there, anyway?”

Beth shrugged in response. “I dunno.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Sarah Jane murmured. “Zoe was right, something’s not right here.” She turned around suddenly, biting on her lip to repress her belated anxiety. “I have to go find them.”

“Wait!” Cassandra cried out, halting Sarah Jane instantly. “You can’t go, not yet.”

“What do you mean?”

Cassandra walked closer towards Sarah Jane. “I haven’t told you everything,” she said urgently. “Sarah Jane.” She gripped the journalist’s hands desperately. “Can you help me?”

For a moment, Sarah Jane was at a loss for words. All she really wanted to do was find the orb before any major damage could be wrought, but this was a woman asking for help. Asking for her help, and she couldn’t just turn her away She quickly collected herself, and said, “I’ll do my best.”

Cassandra accepted the answer with a swift nod. “Then there’s still a lot for you to learn. And you have to find the answers before you do anything else.” Her grip tightened slightly. “I can’t come with you, he’ll know something’s wrong if I do not return now. He mustn’t find out. He mustn’t.”

“Who, Carter?” Sarah Jane asked. Cassandra nodded. “Why? How will he know?”

“We have a harp session soon,” Cassandra said cryptically. “Listen to me. He comes here every morning, always on time. He’s never late, not even during storms. If you go to where he supposedly comes from, you’ll find the answers.”

“Wait!” Sarah Jane said, reaching into her pocket and holding her sonic lipstick out to Cassandra. “Keep this with you.”

Cassandra studied the tube suspiciously. “What is it?”

“Something that’ll hopefully keep you safe,” Sarah Jane replied grimly. “There was a little girl in my care last year. If she had this… maybe things would have ended differently.”

“It’s a lipstick,” Cassandra said incredulously.

“It’s far more than that,” Sarah Jane said firmly, gently placing the sonic lipstick in Cassandra’s hands, and enclosing her fingers around it. “You just uncap the lid and push the button. It’ll home in on your thoughts to find the correct setting. Trust me.”

Cassandra nodded. “Thank you, and good luck!” She moved away and hurried up the path.

Sarah Jane watched her leave in confusion, wracking her brain. She forced herself to remain calm and focused. Carter travelled in by boat every morning from Devon, she knew that much. But how was she meant to travel all the way to Devon and back in time to find her friends?

The answer hit her like a lead weight, and her eyes lit up with realisation. She turned around with wide eyes. “The harbour!” she said, running in the direction where she could hear the sea. She had a few suspicions, and she needed answers.

Beth, Dan and Alfie eventually found the basement past a set of double doors in the main hallway, opposite the main entrance. They walked through another door, travelled down a dusty, cramped spiral staircase, and huddled together in a small space, staring at a heavy-looking wooden door, the sole object of interest in the narrow room. Sharing a look, Dan and Beth beckoned for Alfie to open the door.

“Why me?” Alfie protested petulantly.

Beth shrugged. “Why not?”

“I get why you don’t wanna do it, cos you’re a girl.” Alfie spat the word with such vitriol that Beth couldn’t help but scoff as his immaturity. “How come Dan ain’t doing it?” Alfie complained.

Dan shrugged, a teasing smile on his face. “‘Cos you’re the macho man.”

Alfie kissed his teeth at him. “Beg,” he murmured. Nevertheless, he squeezed past them both and opened the creaky old door, darting through instantly without bothering to hold it open for his two friends.

Beth quickly hurried inside. “Cheers, Alfie,” she said with a scowl.

“Yeah, nice one,” Dan added sourly. Alfie ignored them, looking around the room with an intimidated expression etched onto his face.

The basement was more like a cellar, cold, dark and damp. A closed-off kiosk gathered dust in the corner of the room, while tables covered in surgical equipment and ancient machinery stood in rows. Vintage light bulbs hung in loose fixtures above, and when Dan pushed the button on a nearby antique light switch, dim lighting flickered on and off intermittently, casting long, haunting shadows over the area.

“What is this place?” Beth asked, moving over to examine a scalpel. It was rusted and scorched, as if it had burned in a fire.

Dan shuddered involuntarily. “Dunno, but it’s creepy. Hang on.” He noticed a row of computer terminals in the far right of the room, with a trail of wires leading upwards. The computer screens were still on. “Someone’s been here.”

He walked over and tapped several random keys on the keyboard. A popup appeared on the screen. Dan moved the mouse and clicked it; a DOSbox enlarged on the screen, and glowing white letters formed on the screen, glitching intermittently.

command prompt activated
>unauthorised
>ERROR
>authorised
>c:/users/Whitaker
>//open-file:project-anomaly-by-c-whitaker//

The file opened into a glitchy, stuttering video file.

Project: Anomaly_
> By: VERTEX, EVANGELICALS/ WHITAKER, C/ PROFESSOR_
> Project Leader: AGATHON_
> Log Number: 23980_
> Date: 1/1/2011_
> Subject: F3RN_
> Targets: [ERROR], [ERROR]_
> Project status: Complete_

The video buffered and lagged for several seconds, before a choppy, low quality image of a man with spiky brown hair and a long-coat peered into the screen, straight at Dan, making him jump. The computer screen suddenly went blank. Dan turned to his friends, who were immersed in their own investigations, about to speak up, before he snapped his mouth shut and scratched his head in confusion, unsure of how he could actually explain it.

Alfie scoured the basement, his lips pressed tightly into a thin line. He walked further in, through an archway, and stopped suddenly. “Zoe,” he called out. “Zoe!”

Dan and Beth looked over in Alfie’s direction, shared a brief look, and hurried to join him. They screeched to a halt when they noticed Zoe, unconscious and slumped in a corner, her long hair obscuring her face like a veil.

Beth was the first to react. She hurried past Alfie and kneeled beside Zoe, pressing two fingers against her wrist, searching for a pulse. After a few tense seconds, Beth breathed a sigh of relief.

“She’s okay,” Beth reported to Dan and Alfie. “Just knocked out.”

Alfie kneeled beside them, and shook Zoe’s shoulder. “Oi, Zoe. Wake up.”

Eventually, Zoe stirred awake. “Wha—” She looked around, dazed. “Where am I? Oi!” She swatted Alfie’s hand away with a scowl, groggily pushing herself to her feet, pressing a hand to her temple to ward off a rush of nausea. Once she steadied herself, she looked around, at the test tubes and syringes, with open bewilderment.

“What the hell is this place?” she asked.

“The creepy basement,” Dan said grimly. “How’d you find this place? We walked right past it.”

Zoe furrowed her brows in deep concentration. “I didn’t. I was… upstairs, in the library. Something came at me. Dunno what.”

“Sentinel said there were life-signs down here,” Dan murmured nervously.

“So what we saying? Aliens?” Alfie asked eagerly.

“Nah, it wasn’t an alien. It was…” Zoe frowned, gripping onto Dan’s arm to steady herself. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she spun around to her friends. “It was him.”

“Who?”

“That carer dude — Carter. It was him. He grabbed me and… I think he used some knockout gas.”

There was a slow clap from behind her. Zoe, Alfie, Beth and Dan all turned to see Carter emerge from an alcove in the archway.

“Well done,” he sneered, reaching into the alcove. He retracted his hand, and hid it behind his back with an unnerving smile. “You children do surprise me. I thought it would take you longer to join us. But now, well…”

Carter pulled out his hand to reveal a knife, glinting in the dim lighting. Alfie swore under his breath, and pulled Zoe further down the room, slowly followed by Beth and Dan. Carter slowly advanced on them, a malevolent grin on his face.

“You’ve just made my life easier.”

Sarah Jane rushed through the trees so quickly everything became a blur. She didn’t stop until the woods were far behind her and she was standing on the edge of the cliff once again, gasping for breath, peering down at the harbour below.

It was empty.

Sarah Jane flipped the lid of her wristwatch scanner and hurriedly scanned the area for any activity in the past twenty-four hours. She rotated left and right restlessly while she waited. Eventually, her watch bleeped and provided her with readings. No activity.

“I knew it,” she muttered. With confirmation now in hand, she snapped the lid of her scanner shut, turned around, and headed back towards the house.

“Stay where you are,” Carter ordered warningly. To the youngsters’ surprise, he started to backtrack along the cellar, until he was by the light switch again. He pushed the button, flicking the useless light bulb off, bathing them all in darkness. “There,” he murmured with a smile. “There. That’s much better.”

“He’s off his head,” Alfie whispered furiously. “He’s gonna kill us.”

“Shut up,” Zoe hissed back.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Carter tutted, advancing on the group once again. “It is true you’re going to die, but you might as well accept it first. Life is generally unfulfilling otherwise.”

“What do we do?” Dan muttered lowly.

“I’ve got an idea,” Beth responded, just as quietly.

Before she could reveal her plan, Carter lunged forward without warning, raising the knife in the air and swinging it down in an arc with a fluid flick of his wrist. In a blur of movement, Alfie moved over and shoved Zoe, Beth and Dan to the left, sending them all tumbling away from the weapon while he leapt away just before the blade made contact with his neck.

Beth immediately dove for her pockets as soon as she hit the ground, searching through them frantically for the tool she required, while Zoe and Dan watched Alfie in surprise.

“Whoa,” Dan said breathlessly. “I didn’t know he had quick reflexes.”

“Don’t think he did, either,” Zoe said. Alfie stood motionlessly, staring down at his hands in shock and confusion. “Alfie, look out!” she cried out.

Alfie looked up with wide eyes, stricken with surprise. Carter swung the blade again, this time aiming for the boy’s head. Beth found her phone and threw it, sending it skidding along the floor.

“Sentinel, now!” she yelled.

In a display of surprisingly careful calculation in a frantic and chaotic scenario, Beth’s phone landed directly between Alfie and Carter, and a bright blue energy dome formed between them; a containment vortex, crackling with energy. The blade bounced off harmlessly, and Alfie stumbled backwards in palpable relief.

Carter chuckled darkly. “A portable containment vortex,” he surmised, irritation laced in his tone. “Clever.”

With a swift turn of his heel, he spun around and flung the knife in the direction of Zoe, Beth and Dan. Dan flinched away, but the knife sailed through the air, and bounced harmlessly off another containment vortex. He belatedly realised he still had his phone on him.

Carter threw his head back and howled in disbelief. “Sarah Jane Smith is well prepared,” he told the three teenagers mirthlessly.

“You know Sarah Jane?” Beth asked, her voice quivering with barely-concealed fear. Her heart beat erratically in her chest, which she tried her best to ignore.

“Oh, very, very well,” Carter said proudly, scrunching his nose in delight, as if it was an achievement. “I know you three as well. Zoe Smith, Bethany Petite, and Daniel Orange. You’re all UNIT heroes. I don’t know why, but you are, if my records are correct.” He chuckled. “Kate Stewart has really run them into the ground.”

“You know UNIT?” Zoe asked.

“What, d’you work for them or something?” Dan added.

“I did, once,” Carter answered with a simple, uncaring shrug. “Handed in my resignation in about, ooh…” he closed one eye in careless thought. “2010? Three years ago.”

“2010? But we…” Zoe struggled to concentrate with her headache. She clenched her eyes shut for a few seconds, and tried again. “We... didn’t know her back then.”

“Oh, I know.” Carter nodded to accentuate his point. “But like I said — I have records.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an object, round and spherical in shape, shining a vivid rotation of colours in the dark.

Dan gulped. “Where’d you get that?”

“Do you like it? I do too, look at all the pretty buttons.” He waved it around casually. “It’s isomorphic. Keyed to my touch only. Aren’t I special? I pawned it off a passing Corian trading vessel, you see. They had no idea what it was. I don’t either, really, but it’s come in very useful, especially for keeping up with UNIT records. I know every detail on all of you… except you.” He turned around to Alfie, intrigued. “There’s no mention of you whatsoever. Who are you?”

Alfie shrugged wordlessly.

Carter raised an eyebrow. “A punk, eh? Okay, I see how it is.” He turned back to Zoe, Beth and Dan. “I know what you three are thinking — ‘where’s Sarah Jane?’ — and I have an answer for you. She’s probably busy poking her nose into my affairs, just like you.” His gaze lingered on Zoe, who looked away.

“Leave her alone,” Beth growled.

Carter looked at her, a look vaguely resembling surprise etched onto his face. “Look at you, the good little soldier. I was like that once,” he hummed, tapping the side of the orb thoughtfully. “Fine, I’ll let her off the hook. Give you one last request before I kill you.”

He pressed a button that materialised on the bottom of the circular device. The top section of the orb opened up again, this time exuding a crackle of electrical energy that fanned outwards and shot up to the ceiling, phasing through it with relative ease.

“What was that?” Alfie demanded.

“You’re not the only one with a portable containment vortex,” Carter replied with manic glee.

“You can’t get us,” Dan pointed out. “We’re in here.”

“True,” Carter hummed. He strode over to Alfie and tapped the containment vortex, flinching away from the painful crackle of energy with masochistic glee. “But you can’t go anywhere with these things up, and I suspect that your phones are powering the containment vortex. That’s gotta play havoc on your battery. I’ll just wait until your phones die.” He grinned again. “And then I’ll kill you all.”

“Hello?” Cassandra called out as soon as she’d returned to the lounge. “Hello?” she repeated, just to be certain. She released the breath she was holding, hobbled over and sat on the sofa, heart hammering in her chest. The lipstick was still in her tight grip, concealed by her red shawl.

Her eyes travelled aimlessly around the room that should have felt like home — but felt like a cage, instead — as she waited for Carter to arrive with the harp. She found her disillusionment with what was supposed to be her own home terrifying, but every time she tried to think about her past, she was met with a hazy blur, and the soft lullaby tune that Carter played on the harp. It was a frustrating circumstance.

Before she knew it, her eyes drifted to the coffee table, and a panicked frown marred her expression. Where were her photographs? They were all she had of her hazy past. Cassandra tried to lean forward, but as soon as she did, two sets of metal bounds lashed out from behind the cushions and tightly connected over her waist and chest, effectively trapping her.

“What… what is this?” she protested.

“I don’t get it,” Zoe declared. “Why come for us? You didn’t even know we’d find the orb.”

Carter scoffed. “You lot? You were an accident. The only reason the orb was there was to provide my customers with easy transportation.”

“What’s that mean?”

Carter held up the orb. “This orb is multi-functional. It can erect barriers, perform scans, infiltrate military records, and teleport objects from A to B with relative ease. Suspiciously convenient, but it makes my life easier.”

“So you were chatting rubbish about not teleporting here,” Alfie grumbled sourly.

“Don’t take it too personally, this is all just business," Carter grinned wickedly. The orb bleeped, diverting his attention. He looked confused for a second, before his delighted grin broadened. “Oh, it’s time.”

“For what?” Zoe asked nervously.

“I have to take this,” he announced. “Keep quiet, the lot of you. And don’t go anywhere. I’ll deal with you later.”

He walked away, through the archway, leaving the teenagers to mull on their confusion.

“We have to do something,” Dan decided.

“Yeah, but what?” Beth responded quietly.

“Just wait.” Zoe glanced over at Alfie, who sat with his arm hanging loosely off his raised right leg. “I’ve got an idea.”

Cassandra struggled against her restraints, desperately trying not to panic, when the air in front of her began to shimmer and stretch, expanding into a view-screen. She paused in amazement, transfixed by the phenomena, and was shocked by what materialised on the other side of the screen.

“Hi!” Carter said jovially. “Are you ready to get started?”

“Carter, what is this? What on Earth’s happening?” Cassandra asked sharply.

“Well, I can’t have you running around behind my back anymore. I’ve let you have your fun.”

“I don’t understand?” Cassandra tried to keep the panic from her voice.

Carter tutted, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Don’t insult my intelligence, you old fossil. Did you really think I didn’t notice you leave the house every day when you thought my back was turned? You’re not exactly the world’s fastest sprinter!”

“You knew all this time?”

“Of course!”

“But you just allowed me? Why?”

“Every pet deserves a runaround every once in a while, and honestly, I just liked seeing you drive yourself mad while I prepared.”

“Prepared for what?”

Carter’s eyes twinkled with glee. “All in good time.”

Cassandra slumped back, wrestling with the new information, when she felt a weight press into her abdomen. She looked down briefly, before her head flew up again. She still had Sarah Jane’s lipstick in her hands.

With a quiet surge of optimistic hope, she leaned forward. “Why are you doing all this?” she asked pleadingly. “What do you want from me? Who are you, really?”

“Oh, come on now, Cassandra, I didn’t lie about that! I’m Carter,” he responded, a grin splitting across his face. “And I told you not to take me for a fool.”

In the blink of an eye, a metal hand shot out from the sofa and wrapped itself painfully around Cassandra’s arm. She let out a panicked yelp.

“I know the elderly have a superiority complex, but it’s a really bad habit. I’m a trained operative, dear, you can’t fool me.”

“Then what do you want with me?” Cassandra asked through gritted teeth.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he muttered. “Now what’s that you’re hiding there?”

“Nothing,” Cassandra croaked.

Carter heaved a heavy sigh, and rolled his eyes. “Oh, fine, have it your way.”

The arm tightly constricted around Cassandra’s wrist. She cried out in pain as the device was wrenched from her grip, her sore arm already beginning to show signs of bruising. “It’s nothing,” she said hoarsely. “Just my lipstick.”

Carter chortled at the thought. “You? You haven’t worn lipstick in all the years I’ve known you. Why would that suddenly change now?” He shook his head. “No… I know exactly what this is: Miss Smith’s little device. I can’t have you walking around with this. I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate it. The children will be pleased.”

“Leave them alone!” Cassandra pleaded. “They’re just children.”

“Oh, you sound just like her.” Carter rolled his eyes. “Well, this has been fun, but I’m afraid I have to go, for now. Stick around, I still have my use for you. And I’m taking the lipstick. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No!” Cassandra cried out, but the view-screen zapped into nothingness. A small section of the carpeted floor lowered into the ground, and she could only watch in despair as the lipstick was chucked into it, beyond her reach.

The lipstick tumbled down a dirty shaft, and fell straight into Carter’s waiting hand. He examined it closely, almost to the point of scrutiny, rolling it across his palm thoughtfully, and comparing it to the orb. “This is almost impressive technology. Hey, kids, look what I’ve got —” he spun around magnanimously, faltering when he realised they were no longer there.

Carter strode forward, befuddled by the possibility that four teenagers had managed to elude his trained senses. He made it to the archway, before Zoe rushed out of the alcove and yanked the sonic from his unsuspecting hands. She reached for the orb, but Carter anticipated this, and gripped both her hands.

“That was almost clever,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate that.”

“Let go,” Zoe hissed.

“No chance,” Carter growled back. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? The lot of you.”

Zoe looked down at her arms. She was barely struggling to hold him back. In a flash, Alfie appeared from the alcove and barged the man away. The orb was sent clattering along the floor, but the lipstick was safe in Zoe’s tight grip.

Beth popped her head out from her hiding spot, an upturned table, along with Dan, and yelled, “Move!”

The four teenagers rushed for the door. Dan and Beth reached it first. They were about to push it open, but hesitated when they noticed Zoe stagger and clutch her temple, doubling-over in pain.

“Move,” Alfie hissed desperately, offering her his hand. He glanced back at Carter, who was already pushing himself onto his feet. “Zoe! Come on!”

Zoe shook her head in an attempt to clear the lingering fog, and gripped Alfie’s hand, allowing him to drag her along. They hobbled over to Dan and Beth, who pushed the door open and motioned for them to hurry up. Zoe limply stumbled to the door, with Alfie by her side, when --

“No!” Carter stumbled to his feet, and reclaimed and threw the sphere in one swift, fluid movement. The sphere sailed through the air and made contact with Zoe and Alfie. Beth and Dan could only watch in horror as their friends were engulfed in a blinding white fissure, and slowly disappeared.

Dan recovered first, and pulled Beth through the door, letting it swing shut behind them. They hurried up the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible.

Sarah Jane darted out of the forest, up the dirt path, towards the house. She made it to the garden before a force as strong as a brick wall sent her stumbling back. She clutched her abdomen in shock, before tentatively touching the bubble of energy again.

“Containment vortex,” she realised with horror. Her thoughts turned to Zoe, Beth, Dan and Alfie, and then to Cassandra. She shook her head to rid herself of any bad thoughts. Now was not the time to lose focus.

“Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane quickly fished her phone from her pocket. “Sentinel! What’s happening?”

“The kids are in trouble. That man, Carter -- he lured them into the basement, tried to kill them. I did the best I could, but he threw the orb with the energy signature at them and they…”

“What?” Sarah Jane prompted. “What did he do?”

“He teleported them somewhere. I don’t know where. Beth and Dan got away, but I don’t know how long they can avoid him.”

Sarah Jane looked up at the house behind the shield, fear and anger bubbling away in her veins.

“What do we do?” he asked patiently.

“Find me a way in there,” Sarah Jane ordered coolly. “I’m going after them.”

After her experience with the Fracture, Zoe expected the teleportation experience to be more violent, but to her pleasant surprise, it was a simple transfer from the basement to a bustling street in the middle of the city. Nobody spared the two teenagers a second glance, even though they just appeared out of thin air.

Alfie’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “I’m bugging out.” He took a step forward in wonder, but Zoe dragged him away as a car whistled past. He had walked onto a road. “Safe,” he said jovially when she shot him a glare.

Zoe rolled her eyes and let go of his arm, surveying her surroundings closely. Her headache was gone. She surmised the teleport counteracted the after-effects of being knocked out, replacing it with a reserve of energy instead. She hadn’t felt so energised in a long time. It was a bizarre feeling, but not entirely unwelcome.

“Oi, Zoe,” Alfie said loudly, catching her attention.

Zoe turned to him. “What?”

“Ain’t this Camden?”

Zoe wavered at the abrupt question. “Huh?” she said, inelegantly.

“Check it.” Alfie pointed at something behind her. Zoe turned to see the statue they had passed earlier.

“You’re right,” she realised.

Alfie grinned. “Say that again.”

“Shut up.” Zoe rolled her eyes as she walked away.

“Oi, where you going?”

Zoe skidded to a halt, and twisted her body to face him. “We gotta find a way to get back. They might need us.”

“Or we could chill and wait for them to show up.”

“That’s not how it works.”

Alfie frowned. “How come?”

“It just doesn’t!” Zoe huffed in frustration, keeping her rejoinder to herself. “You coming or what?”

Alfie heaved a heavy sigh, and jogged to catch up with her. “Still, though, where we going?”

“Primrose Hill,” Zoe answered. “You heard what Carter said — that orb’s transportation. If it’s still there, we can get back.”

“Yeah, but he had it on him,” Alfie pointed out.

“It’s the only thing I’ve got right now,” Zoe sighed. “Come on.”

Beth peered over the edge of her hiding place cautiously, ducking down as soon as she heard the double doors swing open. Carter ambled confidently past the statues, taking a sharp left and walking down the hallway. It wasn’t until his footsteps started to grow fainter that Beth relaxed and poked her head out between the stone man and woman.

“He’s gone,” she said quietly, turning to Dan. She frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Dan said quietly. He was pale, his breathing shallow and ragged, his head resting against the back leg of the statue. Beth pursed her lips, unconvinced, but decided to let it drop. There were more pressing matters to attend to. “Just tired. Running away from a creepy murderer isn’t what I wanted to do today.”

Beth scoffed. “Same. We can't just sit here. We've got to find Sarah Jane."

“Do you think they’re okay? Zoe and Alfie?” he asked worriedly.

“I dunno,” Beth shrugged. She hoped they were.

“Are you?” Dan asked abruptly, taking Beth off-guard.

“What do you mean?”

“You and your mum and Laurel,” he clarified. “You never told us what happened.”

Beth wavered. “Oh. It’s nothing.”

Dan’s mouth set in a thin line. “When was the last time you were home, for real? You’ve been bunking at Zoe’s and Rebecca’s houses for ages.”

Beth didn’t answer. She couldn’t answer. Life at home was stifling her lately, so she resorted to avoiding it altogether.

Dan sighed. “Beth, trust me. Avoiding it isn’t gonna help. You gotta talk to them. You’ve literally only talked to me, Zoe, Alfie and Sarah Jane since Halloween."

“Dan,” Beth said slowly, through gritted teeth. “Now isn’t the time.”

Dan nodded, resigned. “Yeah, you’re right. Just… think about it?”

Beth nodded noncommittally. She quickly scanned the hallway. “Empty. We gotta go.”

“Where?”

“Away from him,” Beth declared. “Maybe find Sarah Jane while we’re at it. Can you move?”

“Yup.” Dan heaved himself onto his feet, swaying slightly. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Beth stopped him before he could move. She looked around in confusion. “Do you hear that?"

Cassandra quietly wept in despair. Her slim possibility of escape had been snatched from her grasp, and she wasn’t sure what Carter’s endgame was. The terrible thought of death crept up on her so suddenly, she couldn’t think of anything else. It was unbearable.

She raised her head when she noticed the knob turning, and the door flew open, with Carter stepping into the lounge with flourish.

“Hello, Cassandra,” he exclaimed. “Are you ready to face the music?”

“What have you done with the children?” she asked worriedly.

Carter scrunched his nose in disdain, and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, I just moved them somewhere else. I suspect one or two of them are still lurking around.” He shrugged. “I’ll deal with them later.”

“Don’t hurt them, please.”

“Eh… I’ll think about it. But let’s not talk about them! Let’s talk about you!” He rushed forward eagerly, and kneeled beside her. “How are you today?”

“Please,” Cassandra said, pleadingly, tears streaming down her eyes. She bowed her head. “Please…”

Carter grinned wolfishly, mirroring Cassandra’s movements. “Are you not feeling very well today?”

He lashed out and grabbed her arm, yanking it towards him. The startled woman cried out as he did so.

“See this? This is what happens when you try to scheme behind my back." He tightened his grip, poking at the purple bruises that blistered her skin with a thumb. “You ought to be more careful. At your age, chewing your food is a dangerous hazard. Oh! Tell you what, how about these? Would these make you feel better?” He spoke patronisingly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two crumpled photographs.

Cassandra gasped. “My photographs!”

“Yes, they are!” Carter proclaimed, delightedly, giving her a small, patronising round of applause, crumpling the photos even more as he did so. “Not so batty after all, are you? I think I like this one,” he held up a picture of a young woman with chestnut brown hair and inquisitive, sparkling eyes. “Pretty little thing, isn’t she?”

“You took them!”

“Top marks for observation.” He held them up with a mocking sigh. “Oh, but look at them. They’re a little torn up.” He pressed both pictures between his thumb and forefinger, and swiftly ripped them in half. He continued shredding them, grinning at Cassandra’s pained wails, until they were little more than bits of paper. He cupped his hands, and blew the bits of paper into her face with a wink.

Cassandra sniffed, burying her face in her shawl. “Why are you doing this?” she croaked.

As quickly as it appeared, the smile vanished from Carter’s face. “Twenty years ago, you were shown something very valuable.”

Cassandra stared at him in utter confusion. “What?”

“No!” He leaned forward, his expression furious. “Not ‘what’! You know exactly what I’m talking about!”

“I don’t,” Cassandra said, hysterically. “I really don’t. Please let me go.”

Carter tutted. “Cassandra, Cassandra, Cassandra. You know exactly what I want. Your brain’s probably a bit fuzzy from all the conditioning, but it’s there, somewhere in your subconscious.”

Cassandra’s head perked up. “Conditioning? What conditioning?”

“Oh!” Carter smiled. “Back with us, are you? Didn’t take you long to get over the pictures!”

“What did you mean by conditioning?” Cassandra asked, insistently.

“It’s better if I show you.” He crossed the room and pulled a drape aside, revealing an impressively large portable golden harp, shimmering in the dull sunlight. He wheeled it closer gleefully, and plopped down on a nearby armchair.

Cassandra faltered. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, it’s like I said — it’s time for you to face the music.” Carter placed his hands on the chords and strummed a gentle, soothing melody that immediately relaxed Cassandra.

Sarah Jane crossed the perimeter of the house twice, and scanned three different times, searching for any structural weaknesses in the vortex. When she didn’t find any, she returned to the front of the old mansion, heaving a frustrated sigh, quietly berating herself for giving Cassandra her sonic lipstick.

She ran a hand through her hair, forcing herself to remain calm. Panicking wouldn’t help the situation at all.

“Sarah Jane.”

She whipped out her phone in an instant. “Yes, Sentinel? Have you found a way to break this shield?”

“Not yet, but I needed to tell you that I tried looking for Zoe and Alfie, and I can’t find them.”

“What?”

“Wherever they are, they’re either not on Earth or —”

“Wait a minute,” Sarah Jane interrupted. “Do you hear that?”

At first she thought she’d imagined it, but the music floated to her ears with unnerving clarity. It was a mellifluous harmony, like a lullaby, accompanied by a faint strum of strings. She failed to repress a shudder.

It was a beautifully evocative sound, but the only emotion it filled her with was unbridled fear. Memories she never wanted to revisit bubbled to the surface; memories of alien undertakers, conspiracies, and a time long gone.

“No,” she whispered. “It can’t be...”

“What is it?” Sentinel asked.

Sarah Jane looked up at the house. She inhaled sharply, steadying herself. “You need to get me in there. Now.”

“This ain’t the way to Primrose Hill,” Alfie declared.

“I know,” Zoe replied. “I just wanna check if my baseball bat is in the boot of the car.”

Alfie looked at her strangely. “Why the hell is your bat in her car?”

Zoe scowled. “Shut up.”

“Why are you bugging out?”

Zoe turned to Alfie. “I’m not,” she insisted. Alfie scoffed, and waited for her to try again. Zoe sighed, and said, “I’m not dead.”

“Nah,” Alfie said sarcastically. “You don’t say.”

“Yeah, but how come?” Zoe asked. “He had me trapped. He could have killed me, but didn’t. Why?”

“I dunno.” Alfie shrugged. “But he flopped, so chill.”

Zoe turned away, puzzled. “It’s weird. What’s a UNIT guy doing with an old lady? And that thing I found in his room...”

“What thing?”

Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but paused when something caught her attention. She stopped and frowned. “Where’s the car?!”

“Huh?” Alfie followed her gaze, and quickly realised what she was talking about. An empty parking space defined the spot where Sarah Jane’s Mini Cooper should have been. “Maybe someone jacked it,” he suggested blithely.

Zoe glared at him, finding no humour in the situation. She bit her lip as she looked around, searching for an answer. Glancing over at a newspaper stand, Zoe felt an idea form in her head, and she hurried over, grabbing a newspaper and skimming over it.

“What you doin’ now?” Alfie asked as he joined her, glaring at a little boy who lounged by the station entrance with a lollipop.

Zoe caught the look, and curled her nose in distaste at his behaviour. She decided to give him a stern lecture later, and turned to the newspaper stand owner. “‘Scuse, what time is it?”

The owner, a friendly-looking portly man, checked his wristwatch. “Just turned two, love.”

Zoe’s eyes lit up. “Cheers.” She dumped the newspaper back in its rack, dragged Alfie away before he could pick a fight with the little boy, and pulled him across the road. “I figured it out.”

“Huh?” Alfie grunted dumbly.

Zoe shook her head. “Come on. I’ll tell you on the way.”

Carter released the harp, put his hands on his laps, leaned in, and watched Cassandra. “That symphony was created and developed with the intention of making one docile during the conditioning process, where memories are filtered… and edited.”

Cassandra’s head lolled to the side. She was too exhausted to respond.

“Cat got your tongue?” Carter asked snidely. “I knew there was a chance you might have all but forgotten your experiences, gradually tucking it away into your subconscious. And I can’t have that, so I put you under the conditioning program. Only problem is… your head is bustling with memories. Anger, joy, loss, sorrow… I had to filter through more than expected. I suppose that's the way when one is working on a granny.”

“All this…” Cassandra murmured, “for what?”

“For my prize.” Carter leaned back and stretched his arms. “You have something I need, Cassandra. And I’m going to get it. I’ve invested far too much time for it to end any other way.”

“I don’t…” she paused, struggling to formulate her words. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No?” Carter tilted his head to the side, and pouted mockingly. “Don’t worry. I’m here to help you remember.” He walked across the room in two strides, and flicked the light off and on twice. There was a whirring sound. Cassandra looked up to see a square slab of the ceiling separate, and a winch mechanism lowered a metal headset down onto her head.

“What is this?” Cassandra asked meekly. She had aimed for a demand, but her tone fell flat.

“This? This is plan B.” Carter sauntered forward and adjusted the headset. There was a magnetic strip attached to the front, with a glowing blue button that bathed his face in azure light. “Always have a plan B, Cassandra,” he advised.

“Tell me,” she requested pleadingly.

He pulled back once he was satisfied. “No,” he said happily, spinning on his heels. “I told you — everything has a timetable. I can’t just skip ahead!”

Cassandra’s pleading expression did not waver.

Carter sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you a hint. It’s going to help me pull the memory out of your head, and make it real.”

“Make what real?”

His grin broadened. “Now that would be telling.”

Beth pulled her ear away from the door, and hurried over to Dan, who had retreated further into the hallway. “He wants to pull memories out of her head,” she repeated dubiously. “Can he even do that?”

Dan was about to shrug wordlessly, when a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned around, and saw a woman run across the field, staring desperately at the house. “Hey, it’s Sarah Jane,” he said, nonplussed.

Beth followed his gaze, and frowned. “She’s trapped, remember? That containment vortex he was talking about, she's outside it.”

“Right.” Dan turned to his friend, his brain whirring away inside his head. “Maybe we can find a way to let her in.”

“How?”

“I dunno, but we gotta try, right?”

Beth nodded. “Right.” She looked around, and her attention was caught by a series of trailing wires snaking down the corridor. “Let’s try there, first.”

“What do you mean, filter my memories?” Cassandra repeated, slowly. The words should have meant nothing to her, but they had triggered something inside her; a memory she had long forgotten.

“Oh, it must be Tayla. She did say she’d drop by later with the sandwiches. Could you get that, dear? And make sure to congratulate her!”

“I’ll tell her ‘well done’ from the both of us!”

Sophie started screaming.

Cassandra was up in a moment and, wasting no time, rushed out of the living room and into the hallway. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped from her throat.

“Sophie…!”

“No!” Cassandra wailed in agony. “No!”

Carter was taken aback by her anguished reaction. “Eh?” he managed to say.

“Sophie,” she whispered, looking down at a crumpled piece of paper on her lap. Her voice quivered. “Sophie…”

“Yes, yes, Sophie, the dearest daughter! What about her?” Carter demanded impatiently.

“You…” Cassandra choked on her words. She took a breath, and tried again. “You killed her.”

“Oh.” Carter smiled cruelly. “Is that it?”

“How can you be so callous?” Cassandra asked. “You killed my daughter!”

“She was in the way!” Carter shouted back. “And I made you forget that. I did you a favour.”

“You tricked me. You made me think I was paranoid.”

“No, I moulded you,” he corrected with a sneer. “I moulded you for this exact day.”

Cassandra shook her head furiously. “But… how could you? Don’t you have any family of your own?”

For a split-second, the gleeful smile slipped from Carter’s face, replaced by a pained sadness, before the facade was back in place. “I think we’ve talked enough,” he declared, pulling out an orb-like device from his pocket. “Time to do what I came for.”

He pressed a button on the device. Cassandra cried out in agony, feeling a searing, white-hot pain shoot through her head. Her vision blackened and there were stars in her eyes, but she didn’t faint. It was like she was being kept on the brink of consciousness.

There was a presence, a shadow, in her mind; rooting around; searching for something. It picked through every single memory she had, painful memories, joyful memories, even long-forgotten memories, and it left nothing behind.

Carter cracked a crick in his neck. “As much as I’d love to stay and watch,” he started, “there are four children and another old lady who need to be neutralised. And just for you, I’ll start with the kids first.”

“No!” Cassandra wailed.

“Oh, save your strength," Carter retorted as he pulled out the orb, and pressed a button. The orb made a low whining sound. “Aw, the processor’s full,” he whined, as if it were an inconvenience. He looked over at the screaming Cassandra, deliberating momentarily. “I need those Eyes,” he decided, pressing another button on the orb. There was a loud whoosh and a flash of light outside the window.

“What was that?” Cassandra inquired. “What did you do?”

“I had to take down the containment vortex,” he said sullenly, like a spoilt child. His hand hovered over another button. “If you survive this, remind me to get a better CPU.”

With that, he pressed the button, and disappeared in a flash of light.

“We went back in time.”

Alfie blinked. “What?”

“We went back in time,” Zoe repeated. They crossed an intersection, narrowly avoiding a car. The driver honked his horn angrily at them, and shouted a few curse words. They swore back.

“Are you high?” Alfie asked her seriously, once they'd calmed down.

Zoe glared at him mutinously. “No,” she hissed. “Remember what Sarah Jane said? The Doctor stopped the Surveyors by going back in time. We did the same! We went back a half-hour before we got here. We’re the reason the energy signal moved.”

Alfie opened his mouth, probably to grumble something unintelligible, but he tripped over his shoe laces before he got the chance. He hopped five steps ahead, regained his balance, and screeched to a halt.

Zoe snickered loudly.

Alfie glowered at her. “Shut up.”

“No,” she declared. “Tie your shoelaces.”

Alfie ignored her, and instead asked, “You know what I wanna know?”

“What?”

“Why are we bothering with this old lady?”

The smile dropped from Zoe’s face. “What d’you mean?”

“Why we helping her?”

“‘Cos she needs our help,” she replied, slowly. “Duh.”

“Just call the police.” Alfie shrugged.

Zoe stared at him dubiously. “And say what? ‘Oi, Slipper. You know that random island near Devon? Yeah, there’s a psycho running around with a knife’.”

“Who the hell’s Slipper?”

“Irrelevant,” Zoe snapped.

“Carter tried to kill us!”

“Everyone tries to kill us!”

“It ain’t our problem,” Alfie insisted.

“It is now!” Zoe pushed past him and resumed walking.

Alfie matched her pacing effortlessly. “He ain’t an alien, though. I wanna fight aliens, not some randomer. I thought you lot do that.”

“He has alien tech,” she pointed out. “And anyway, we help people as well. Cassandra needs our help.”

“Who the hell cares about Cassandra?” Alfie scoffed.

“Carter does, or he wouldn’t be stalking her.”

“So? She’s old, she’ll probably die next week.”

“You what?” Zoe stopped walking, and turned to him incredulously. “What did you say?”

“What?” Alfie said obliviously.

“Are you serious? Are you actually serious right now?”

He shrugged, the corners of his lips flickering into an amused smile. “It’s true, though. Face it, she’s ancient! Sarah Jane too. She’s probably gonna fall over —”

Zoe had enough. Anger bubbled inside her veins, and before she knew what she was doing, she gripped Alfie’s hoodie with her fist, and tripped him, sending him crashing to the floor. Passerbys murmured at the scene as they passed, but didn’t stop or comment.

Alfie was stunned for a moment, but he soon pushed himself to his feet and rounded on Zoe angrily. “Who do you think you are?” He demanded, his breathing heavy and uncontrolled.

“Why did you say that? Why would you even think that?”

“Can’t take the truth?” Alfie sneered, rubbing his jaw.

“You’re the one thinking about... that!"

“It ain’t like she’s gonna live forever, though,” he countered. “She’s gonna die. Get used to it.”

Zoe glowered at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“And you’re just running away from the truth,” Alfie retorted.

“No, I’m not. Why are we even talking about this? You’re only cynical ‘cos you lost your parents.”

Alfie flinched. “Shut up, Smith.”

“What? Can’t take the truth?” Zoe revelled in the low-blow more than she should have. “Or maybe they just left you!”

“Shut up,” He balled up his fist and raised it, his expression thunderous. Zoe stared into his eyes unflinchingly, waiting for the blow. She didn’t want to admit that she was slightly afraid. There was a primal look in his eyes that set her on-edge.

Alfie froze, his fist quivering and his expression softening the longer he stared at her, until he dropped it altogether and let it fall limply by his side. He bowed his head, and moved slightly to the right.

Zoe scoffed. “That’s what I thought. You don’t wanna help? Fine. You can stay here. I’m gonna help my friends.” She pushed past him and stormed down the road, towards Primrose Hill, not checking to see if he was following. She didn’t care.

Beth and Dan wandered through the first floor of the house, following the trail of wires and cables.

“Hold on,” Dan interrupted abruptly, and disappeared into a room. Beth stared at the door he entered in confusion, and shot him a puzzled glare once he resurfaced… with a cooking pan. “There’s a kitchen in there,” he mumbled defensively. “I wanna have a weapon on hand if Carter finds us!”

Beth shrugged. “If you say so.”

They left the kitchen, and passed the derelict old rooms that probably had a purpose decades ago, and faulty toilets, until they came to a stop at the end of the darkened hallway.

They shared a look. They stood in front of a back-door, leading into the garden. In the distance, they could see the forest. Beth walked over, and tried to pull it open, but the door simply rattled loudly.

She pulled away with a huff. “Locked.”

“Hey,” Dan said, his gaze fixed on something by her side. “What’s that to your left?”

Beth turned to see a white slip of paper nailed to the wall. She tore it from the nail, and pulled the folds open. “It’s an guest list,” she realised.

Dan peered over Beth’s shoulder to scan the contents.

Welcome:
Agathon
W. Abberton
L. Aristides
C. Daniels
J. Harkness
E. Klein
R. Smith
L. Walters

“What’s he need a guest list for?” Dan wondered.

Beth shrugged, scrunching up the paper and stuffing it in her pockets. “I dunno, but we still gotta find a way to shut down that containment vortex.”

“Right,” Dan agreed.

Beth looked around, and her eyes caught on the ascending staircase. “Maybe we should try up there.”

Dan followed her gaze, and looked at the staircase, intimidated. “There?” he asked meekly.

“Yeah?” Beth looked at him strangely. “What’s up?”

Dan coughed awkwardly. “Nothing,” he said, though the nervous tension in his eyes still lingered. He held up his pan like he was ready to smack someone in the face. “Let’s go.”

A loud whoosh caught Sarah Jane’s attention. She looked up to see a brief flash of bright blue light, in the shape of a round dome, spark and disappear. “What’s happening?” she asked.

“The vortex has been disabled,” Sentinel informed her. “I don’t know how long for. Now’s your chance!”

Sarah Jane was moving in an instant. She crossed the threshold and pushed the door open, stumbling in as quickly as she could. “Beth? Dan?” she called out. Her voice echoed in the large hallway, but no response came.

“Sarah Jane?” a pained voice called out. It was faint, barely more than a whisper, but she just about managed to hear it.

“Cassandra? Where are you?”

“In here.”

Sarah Jane followed the voice into the lounge. She barged in, and turned sharply to the left, barely able to suppress a gasp. “Oh no,” she whispered, transfixed by the metal headset on Cassandra’s head.

“Help me,” Cassandra croaked.

Sarah Jane snapped out of her daze and moved closer. “You have to fight it, Cassandra!”

“I can’t,” Cassandra wailed. “My head… hurts.”

“What is it looking for? What does it want?”

“I don’t know!”

Sarah Jane searched her pockets for the sonic lipstick, before she belatedly remembered that she didn’t have it on her. “The lipstick, Cassandra, where’s the lipstick?”

“He took it. I’m sorry,” Cassandra whimpered. Sarah Jane sagged back in terror. She didn’t know what to do.

“Zoe, wait up,” Alfie called out.

Zoe ignored him, and kept walking.

“Zoe.”

Still, she walked.

“Oi!” He finally caught up to her and gripped her arm. “Just listen!”

Zoe whirled around to face him. “What?” she said coldly.

“Chill! It ain't that deep,"

“Why?” she asked simply. “Why would you say that about them?”

He shrugged, and defensively crossed his arms. “‘Cos it’s true, innit?”

Zoe pursed her lips, wriggled out of his grasp, and started walking again. They had found Primrose Hill now, and were rapidly approaching the gate.

Alfie sighed in frustration. “Wait, man!” He ran after her, but in his rush to catch up, tripped over his untied shoelaces and fell to the ground again, groaning softly.

Zoe looked at him, and crossed her arms. “Should’ve tied your shoelaces,” she said primly.

Alfie grunted. “Yeah, yeah. I would, if…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What?” she persisted.

“I would but… I dunno how,” Alfie murmured, looking to the side.

Zoe was caught off-guard by the statement. “What?” she repeated.

“I dunno how to tie my shoelaces,” he said quickly.

For a moment, Zoe stood in stunned silence. Then, her lips started twitching. Alfie looked up at her, and she burst into laughter.

“Shut up,” he said sulkily.

Zoe kept laughing. The thought of Alfie being unable to tie his shoelaces amused her. She helped him up, still chortling to herself, and punched him in the gut.

“Ow!” he whined, rubbing his stomach with wide eyes. “Easy!”

“You can’t tie your shoelaces,” Zoe repeated, still in a state of disbelief.

“You don’t say,” Alfie muttered.

“How come?”

“No one taught me, innit?” Alfie said sourly, clutching the dog tags dangling around his chest tightly. “So I didn’t bother.”

Zoe sobered instantly. Taking pity on him, she walked ahead to cover her sad smile. “I’ll teach you,” she declared.

“You what?”

Zoe smirked, though he couldn’t see it. “You heard me.”

“But,” he spluttered, “you’re a —”

“What?” Zoe asked, glaring pointedly at him.

Realising he was treading on thin ice, Alfie sheepishly cleared his throat and said, “Sure, if you want.”

Zoe nodded, and the two continued their trek. They were in Primrose Hill now, walking towards their destination in comfortable silence. Alfie stole a glance in Zoe’s direction.

“Hey, Zo, we cool?”

Zoe looked at him contemplatively without breaking stride. She was furious with him for his callous comments, but the more she looked at him and his hopeful, impish smile, she felt her anger slowly slip away, so she turned her head and focused straight ahead.

“Yeah, we’re cool,” she said, softly and unconvincingly. She wasn’t convinced herself. She waited for Alfie to speak, wondering how he was going to respond.

What she wasn’t expecting was for him to grab and pull her behind a tree. Zoe opened her mouth to protest, but Alfie shushed her urgently.

“That dude’s here,” he whispered.

Zoe faltered at that. She turned to look, but Alfie grabbed her. “Watch it!” he hissed. “If he sees you, we’re screwed!”

“Okay!” She peered around the side of the tree to see Carter standing on the bridge, waving jauntily at them. “I think he sees us,” she said dryly, grabbing Alfie by the sleeve and pulling him back. “Run!”

And so they ran.

Sarah Jane tried to reach for the headset, but a burst of searing energy forced her back. “I can’t take it off, I’m sorry.”

“What is it?” Cassandra asked. Her voice was hoarse and tight. “What’s happening to me?”

“It’s called a Memory Weave, and it’s extracting something from your memories.”

“I know! Carter said the same thing!”

“Do you know what he wants?”

“No!” Cassandra cried out, panicked. “I don’t know what he wants. He keeps saying I should, but I don't!”

Sarah Jane chewed on her lip, and pulled out her phone, where Sentinel was still active. “There must be something you can do, Sentinel.”

“It’s gonna take a while for me to be able to do anything,” Sentinel informed her. “It’s not just one specific piece of tech, it’s a mismatch. I can only think of one solution right now.”

“And what’s that?”

“Disable it.”

“I don’t have the lipstick, but there must be a way to shut it down manually,” Sarah Jane said thoughtfully. “Where are the controls, Sentinel? The Weave has a console of some sort to regulate the process. If I get to that, I can stop this!”

The phone whirred and beeped. “I’ve scanned the building.”

“And?”

“I can’t find any active computer panels,” he revealed gravely. “Either he’s cloaked it beyond my scans somehow, or there isn’t a console present on this island.”

Zoe and Alfie sprinted through the park, past the gate, and down the street. They could hear Carter behind them, but didn’t dare look back. Instead, they kept running, and weaving, and darting, until they found themselves on the high street and Carter was nowhere to be seen.

“Lost him,” Alfie said as he stopped for breath, panting heavily.

“Yeah, but for how long?” Zoe wondered. She hurried behind the outer wall of a business office, beside a dark alleyway, and motioned for Alfie to join her. They both peered out, scanning the crowds of hoodlums and teenagers and adults for their hunter.

“He’s gonna kill us,” Alfie hissed.

Zoe rested her head against the glass of the building behind her, deep in thought. Her brain whirred with different scenarios. She forced herself to think. “Gotta be something we can do,” she murmured.

“Yeah, but what?” Alfie asked.

Zoe’s eyes drifted to a pile of rubbish — London was horrendously dirty — where pigeons picked at litter for food. Her eyes lit up mischievously.

“I’ve got an idea,” she proclaimed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the sonic lipstick. She noticed Alfie’s confused stare, and elaborated. “Last year, we helped Sarah Jane look for this posh talking watch, and there were these possessed pigeons acting like its jailors. She used the lipstick to scare them off.”

“How the hell’s that gonna help us?”

“It’ll buy us time.” Zoe grinned, pointed the lipstick at the flock of pigeons, and pressed the button. The lipstick emitted a high pitched whine that startled the flock, and sent them careering wildly through the air. Passerbys jumped back in shock — some even cried out — and started running in the opposite direction creating a stampede and obscuring them from sight.

Alfie hooted, watching the panicked crowd in disbelief. “That’s sick,” he exclaimed.

Zoe pocketed the lipstick, grabbed him by his hand, and pulled him along with her. “It won’t do much for long. We gotta get out of here —”

They had barely started moving before Carter rounded the corner of the alleyway and grabbed them both around the torso.

“Nice try, kids,” he said, tightening his hold when they struggled. He reached for the orb in his left hand and clicked a button with his thumb before Alfie could knock it away.

Amidst the chaotic flock of pigeons, the three vanished in a flash of white light.

“There’s nothing here,” Dan complained. He and Beth had searched every door on two floors, and found nothing of interest.

“There’s gotta be something,” Beth insisted. “Let’s try here.”

She hurried up another flight of steps. Dan followed her, slowly. His movements were sluggish and uncoordinated, which Beth noticed straight away. She tried the door on the right, but it was locked. Turning to the plaque on the wall, she realised why.

“It’s the library,” she noted. “Didn’t Carter say it was flooded?”

Instead of a response, she heard something fall to the ground loudly. Beth turned around to see Dan slumped against the wall. He was as white as a sheet.

“Dan?” she frowned, moving to crouch beside him. “You all right?”

Dan held up a hand. “Yeah,” he assured her. “Just... tired.”

“You look sick.”

“Food poisoning,” Dan replied unconvincingly. “Ate haggis in Scotland. I hate haggis.”

Beth tuned out of the conversation. A low, dull whirring noise in the background had caught her attention. Frowning to herself, she rose from her crouch and moved to the only other door in the hallway. The plaque informed her that it was ‘Sophie’s room’. Who was Sophie?

Beth pressed her ear to the door. “It’s coming from in here,” she informed Dan. “Do you hear that?”

“Yeah,” Dan mumbled. “What is it?”

Beth was about to respond, to tell him she didn’t know, when she heard a voice from inside the room.

“It was a sound plan, I admit,” Carter grunted as he dragged the two struggling teenagers further into the basement. “Using the chaos as a cover to run from me. Not bad. But I saw it coming a mile away.”

“Good for you,” Zoe growled as she thrashed and kicked. Carter discarded the orb and moved his hand to her throat, applying enough pressure to threaten her into submissiveness. Alfie was surprisingly relaxed, though he could feel the anger rolling off the boy in droves.

“It’s UNIT training, you never forget it.” He laughed suddenly. “Do you two know where we are?”

Neither Alfie nor Zoe responded.

“Retention Island,” Carter continued, after a pause. “Do you know why it’s called Retention Island?”

“I don’t care, but I bet you’re gonna tell us anyway,” Zoe muttered under her breath.

“Correct!” Carter answered happily. “I am going to tell you! It used to be hidden by a perception filter. No one knows how or why it was put there. It was discovered in World War Two, used as a military outpost. After the War, it fell into UNIT hands, and after they moved on, I moved in.” He grinned wolfishly. “What better way to evade your hunters than by staying right under their noses?”

He dumped his two prisoners unceremoniously on the floor. “The only reason you two aren’t dead is because I want to kill you all in one go. It’s much more easier that way. So, tell me: where are your friends?”

Zoe looked away with a scowl, while Alfie glared right at him, his expression thunderous. There was something intriguingly primal hidden in his expression.

Carter shrugged. “Fine, play it that way. You’ll talk, sooner or later. I’ll make you talk.” He turned around and walked to the computer terminals. “But first I have to check on my other prisoner. Don’t try to run, or I’ll change my mind and kill you.”

Zoe fidgeted, anxious to lash out and strike, but managed to restrain herself; Alfie, on the other hand, was stock-still, almost meditative, his gaze fixed on the man’s back, watching as he switched the computers on.

His knuckles tightened until they were white, but he didn’t attack, despite the voice in his head urging him to.

“We have to do something,” Sarah Jane said. Think, Sarah, think.

“Sarah Jane?” Cassandra called out weakly.

“I’m here,” Sarah Jane said reassuringly.

“It was him,” Cassandra sniffed. “It was him.”

“What do you mean?”

Cassandra whimpered. For a second, Sarah Jane was worried she wouldn’t say anything.

“He killed Sophie,” the woman said at last. “I know that now. It was… horrible, and I didn’t even remember. Now he’s ripped the only picture I had of her.”

“Oh, Cassandra, I’m so sorry,” Sarah Jane said mournfully. “I’ve lost my daughter, too. Her name was Sky. She… I lost her. She came into my life on this day, two years ago. I miss her every day.”

“What happened?”

Sarah Jane looked away. “Her... ‘father’ was a bad person. He took her away from me, permanently.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassandra said sadly.

Sarah Jane shook her head, and quickly wiped her eyes. “Now isn’t the time for that. We have to get you out.”

“But how?”

Sarah Jane thought briefly for a moment, drawing on her previous experiences with the Memory Weave. The Doctor’s encouraging words suddenly hit her. “Think about Sophie,” she encouraged. “Think about your life! Think about all of it!”

“Why? How will that help?”

“Trust me!” Sarah Jane urged. “I’ve been in that machine before, and I managed to overload it! You can as well!”

Cassandra complied with a silent nod, and fell silent. For a while, she concentrated deeply, attempting to draw on the little memory she could remember. But when nothing happened, and the Memory Weave remained intact, she started to panic.

“It’s not working!” she cried out. As soon as she did so, a ball of pure energy burst out from the headset, stopping and forming in front of their eyes; a burning torrent of energy, swirling as if it were at war with each other.

“I don’t understand,” Sarah Jane said in puzzlement. “That should have worked.”

“It won’t.”

Sarah Jane spun around, staring at the television on the far end of the room with wide eyes. Carter Carmichael stood on the other side, smirking smugly at her.

“Hello, Miss Smith,” he said courteously. “It’s nice to finally meet you properly, without the pretences.”

“That’s Carter,” Beth realised. “And that’s Sarah Jane!”

The voices on the other side sounded distant and tinny, as if they were being broadcasted through a radio. Beth pressed her hands against the door and pushed it.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked. He was still leaning against the wall, watching with curious, drooping eyes.

“Something’s wrong with this door,” Beth replied. “The door — it’s old, but this plaque” — she jerked a thumb at the object in question — “it looks new.”

“So, what? Someone put it there recently?” Dan pondered.

Beth nodded. “And I bet you it was Carter.”

Dan hummed in response, his head lolling to the side.

“Dan?” Beth asked worriedly. He was awfully sweaty.

“I’m fine,” Dan mumbled. “Just relaxing.”

Beth pursed her lips, and turned back to the door, searching for a weak point in the structure. She identified it in a loose panel under the door knob, and kicked it. The panel splintered apart cleanly, leaving a gap just wide enough for her to crawl through.

“Come on,” she urged.

Dan took a look at the hole, and screwed up his nose. “I can’t fit through that! You’re on your own, Beth.”

Beth rolled her eyes, but she didn’t linger. She squatted on all fours, and crawled through the gap, finding herself in an average-looking room with bland wallpaper, carpeted floor, and, to Beth’s amazement, a mysterious-looking console in the centre.

She walked over, and ran her hand over the top. It was a mismatch of materials, smooth metals and jagged rocky equipment awkwardly cobbled together. There was an assortment of buttons and levers, with a small television attached to the top, connected to a pair of small, black speakers. The television displayed a live feed of both Sarah Jane and Carter, who were in two different rooms.

Beth leaned forward, intrigued. What on Earth was going on?

“Sarah Jane Smith,” Carter repeated. “It’s an honour.”

Sarah Jane straightened to her full height. “Yes, well, I wish that I could say the same about you. You’re behind all this, I take it?”

“Pretty much,” Carter said with a shrug. “Are you impressed?”

“Not in the slightest,” Sarah Jane snapped in disgust. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t trust you.”

Carter snorted. “Easy to say when the evidence is in front of you.”

She gestured to the Memory Weave. “Where did you get this technology? This should be buried in Mount Snowdon.”

“You recognise it!” Carter said happily. “Good, I was hoping you would. Do you recognise the object to your left as well? I’d be sorely disappointed if you didn’t.”

Sarah Jane looked to her left in confusion, and froze. She didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed it before, but a large, golden harp stood in the corner of the room, partially covered by a drape. There was no doubt — she’d definitely heard the symphony earlier.

Her shock must have translated into her expression, because Carter hooted in delight. “Of course you do! It was used to ensnare you, after all!”

“Yes, I remember,” Sarah Jane said cuttingly, turning around to the screen. “But you tell me, right now — how did you get your hands on this? This equipment belongs to the Shansheeth.”

“Oh, didn’t your runts tell you? They’re mine now!”

“My friends? If you hurt them, I’ll —”

“Oh, don’t get so worked up,” Carter said with a sigh. He craned his neck to look at something behind him, and shouted, “kids! Come say hello to the doting grandmother! Come on now, don’t be shy!”

A few seconds later, Zoe hesitantly appeared on screen. “Hey, Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane tensed. “Zoe, are you okay? Has he hurt you?”

“I’m all right.” She shot a glare at Carter. “Alfie’s with me, but we don’t know where Dan and Beth are.”

“Yes, those two did slip out of my grasp,” Carter mused. “Oh well. They’re like worms, they’ll show up soon enough, I’m sure.”

“He’s ex-UNIT,” Zoe spoke up. “Told Dan he was a soldier. The weird orb’s his as well. He using it as transport for some people. Dunno who. But we got in his way. He scanned us and brought us here.”

“I see. Don’t worry, Zoe, I’ll come and get you soon enough,” Sarah Jane reassured her. “I just have to take care of something first. Just keep calm.”

“Right, enough of this ‘friendship is magic’ drivel,” Carter interrupted, jabbing a thumb at Zoe. “You, go join your friend. Grown ups are talking here.”

Zoe glared at him, and Sarah Jane was briefly worried she would lash out, but she mercifully acquiesced and walked back the way she had appeared. However, Sarah Jane noticed her pause and swipe something off the floor as she went.

“So, you’re ex-UNIT,” Sarah Jane said. “That explains how you got the equipment.”

“Yup,” Carter responded airily. “I gave it up. Well, I got fired.”

“Any particular reason?” Sarah Jane queried.

“I was too much of a loose cannon, apparently.”

“I can’t ever think why,” Sarah Jane said dryly.

“Oh, spare me.” Carter put a mocking hand to his chest. “The equipment was all my handiwork, by the way. After you and your friends destroyed it, I had to replace loads of parts.” He sighed heavily. “Not easy when you’re on the run, but I managed.”

Sarah Jane huffed in disbelief, and turned back to Cassandra. “Why her?”

Carter flicked his gaze over to the immobilised woman, and his eyes lit up. “Oh, hello, dear! Are you enjoying your trap? I hope you are because it took me a long time to set up.”

“Leave her alone,” Sarah Jane ordered.

“Nobody appreciates my work,” he sighed melodramatically. “I chose her because she’s special. She’s old, and stupid, and frail, and ever-so-annoying, but she’s seen something.”

“What?”

“Something special, a long time ago. A pair of jewels that, if used together, can cause absolute carnage across the universe. One alone is all that’s needed, but two…” he whistled appreciatively. “Two will fetch a nice price.”

Sarah Jane shook her head. “I might have known,” she said bitterly. “That’s all it ever amounts to for people like you, isn’t it? Profit.”

Carter shrugged. “We’re not all as rich as you, love. And the rich are hungry, Miss Smith. Hungry for power. They crave it, just like I crave money. It’s a win-win scenario. I scratch my their backs, they scratch mine.”

“All this, at the expense of this innocent woman?”

“Give me credit, I kept her fed, which wasn’t an easy task when you have to teleport off the island every day so your cover isn’t blown. I trust you gathered that, already?”

“Yes,” Sarah Jane confirmed. “No boat in the harbour. No activity, either. You’ve never left this island every night like you claimed.”

“That’s the Sarah Jane Smith in the reports: always got her eye on the ball.” Carter shrugged in a carefree manner. “I took care of her. I gave her that stupid tea of hers to keep her nourished, and there’s plenty of toilets around this jangly old place. Not to mention my winning presence. She was sorted!” He reconsidered. “Okay, so she lost some of her memories, but who cares? We’ll just call it tax.”

“You manipulated her! What drives you to such extremes, to do what you do?”

For a brief moment, Carter’s smile wavered, and his expression flickered, shifting into something dark and determined, before the casual facade was back. “If you survive,” he said, “ask your little friend. I believe she knows the answer.”

Sarah Jane wanted to ask what he meant by that, but she was interrupted by a loud roar. She spun around to see the ball of energy grow in size. A shape started to form inside it, a circular object the size of a gemstone.

“UNIT salvaged a notebook one-hundred and thirteen years ago belonging an unknown woman from 1651, detailing and illustrating the name and function of these artifacts,” Carter revealed. “Powerful amulets with the capability of opening rifts in space. The notebook called them...”

Through the ball of energy, an alluring purple glow shone brightly.

“The Eyes of Hades.”

Beth jumped away from the controls as they began to spark wildly.

“Something’s going on,” she announced to Dan, who had gone suspiciously quiet. She debated checking on him, when the console sparked even more, and a blue progress bar appeared on the screen, with half of it shaded in yellow.

“Fifty percent,” a digital female voice informed her.

“Uh oh,” Beth said involuntarily. There was something alarming about a progress bar. It sometimes filled her with anxiety, particularly when she was trying to download anime.

“Dat’s no good,” Dan, who had crawled halfway through the broken panelling before giving up, supplied unhelpfully. He looked less pale, but the sweat still clung to his skin, as if the mere act of moving was a strenuous task.

“Mm,” Beth hummed in agreement. “Whatever this thing is, Sarah Jane doesn’t like it.”

“So what do we do?” Dan asked.

Beth looked at him gravely. “I don’t know.”

“It’s all starting to make sense,” Sarah Jane said, tearing her gaze away from the Eyes of Hades. The purple glow was strangely enchanting. “You’re planning to sell these Eyes of Hades to bidders — whom I gather are the people you’re transporting here. But you couldn’t get the real ones, for some reason, so you stole the Shansheeth’s equipment and used them on Cassandra, who has seen them before.”

"I can see why you’re one of the country’s top journalists.” He leaned back nonchalantly, disappearing from the frame for a second, hollering something at Zoe and Alfie, before he resurfaced. “Sorry about that. Where were we?”

“You picked this island because it was isolated, and the authorities wouldn’t find you,” Sarah Jane continued.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cassandra warbled. “I don’t know what any of this means.”

Sarah Jane studied the woman. “She must have had a relatively brief experience with the gems if she can’t remember,” she deduced.

“Not necessarily,” Carter responded.

“What does that mean?”

“The Memory Weave’s been modified since you saw it last. I engineered it to target buried, subconscious thoughts as well the conscious,” he revealed. “At an age like hers, memory is a lottery. I couldn’t risk her forgetting it before it was too late. So I used the harp to make her docile while I filleted through her memories and implemented new ones. It… went wrong.”

“You confused her,” Sarah Jane snarled. “You confused this poor woman for your own selfish schemes.”

“I did what I had to,” Carter said simply.

“Well, I hope you’re proud.”

“He killed Sophie,” Cassandra repeated brokenly.

Carter rolled his eyes. “You’re still hung up on that? Get over it! It was only your daughter, for god’s sake! But don’t worry, you’ll join her soon enough.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, haven’t you realised?” Carter smiled. “A brain as old as hers won’t be able to sustain the after-effects of the Weave. Her mind will be drained, and her body will be left as a corpse.”

“You’re disgusting,” Sarah Jane yelled.

Carter smiled salaciously. “I do my best.”

“I’m going to stop you,” Sarah Jane vowed. “I’m going to stop this auction of yours.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Carter challenged. “The Weave is already sixty percent complete, and there’s two consoles you have to deactivate. And I’m guarding one, so you’d have to get past me to do it.”

Sarah Jane leaned forward. “Watch me,” she said confidently.

Carter hooted. “Better watch that motor-mouth of yours, Sarah Jane Smith. It’ll get people hurt. But bring it on. Let’s see if you can live up to your name. And if not, well... you're burning straight to Hell.”

With that, the television screen went blank.

“Can you do it?” Cassandra asked hopefully. “Can you stop him?”

Sarah Jane sagged guiltily. “No,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, Cassandra, but there’s not enough time. I’m too late.”

Cassandra sighed. “I thought so. It’s fine. I understand.”

“There’s usually something I can do,” Sarah Jane said, unable to hide her frustration. “There’s always something I can do. Oh, if only Sky were here...”

But Sky wasn’t here, and neither were Luke or her friends. As she looked up at the rapidly growing ball of energy, with the gemstone that bathed the room in a purple glow growing inside it, Sarah Jane realised she hadn’t felt so helpless in a long time.

“You heard that, right?” Zoe murmured lowly. “There’s two of those consoles. If we destroy that one, we might be able to slow him down. Alfie?”

She turned to Alfie, but her friend was still. His fist clenched and unclenched repeatedly every few seconds, his gaze locked on the arch in front of them, and he didn’t react when she waved a hand in front of his face. Zoe huffed, and decided to act alone.

Lurching to her feet, she pulled the lipstick from her pocket, uncapped it, and sprinted through the arch. Carter turned around in surprise, but he was too late. Zoe aimed the device at the console, and zapped it.

The result was instantaneous. Showers of sparks erupted from the console in droves, and the terminals started to glitch and stutter, displaying ‘warning’ signs and blaring an obnoxious klaxon.

Carter rounded on her furiously. “You stupid girl,” he growled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Beth’s mind raced with excited thoughts. “This is the second console,” she realised with joy. Her heart thumped in her chest with elation. If she destroyed this console, she would be able to slow down Carter’s schemes.

She ran a hand through her hair, wondering how she would be able to dent it.

“Beth,” Dan said feebly. Beth looked down to see him still slumped in the doorway, holding up the pan. “Use this,” he ordered. Clearly, he had come to the same conclusion.

Beth held out her hand, and Dan wordlessly threw it over to her. She caught it swiftly, and turned to the console. It wasn’t a baseball bat, but it would have to do.

Beth raised the cooking pan, and swung it downwards in one fluid move, striking the machine. Then she struck it again, and she didn’t stop until the machine was stuttering and sparking and whirring like an overheated laptop. She took a nervous step back.

“What’s going on?” Dan mumbled.

“Get out of the way,” Beth said. “Move!” she yelped when Dan merely stared up at her in confusion. “It’s gonna blow up!”

The words seemed to jolt something within him. Dan ducked out of the opening, and Beth quickly clambered through, just before a loud explosion rocked the room behind her.

Carter lunged forward. Zoe tried to move out of the way, but he grabbed her sleeve and yanked her towards him, holding his arm against her windpipe. She kicked and thrashed, but he merely tightened his grip on her throat.

“You stupid little girl,” he hissed into her ear. “Did you think that would do anything?”

“You should use your eyes, mate,” Zoe said smugly, nodding towards the machine. “Looks like it did.”

Carter looked up just in time to see his machine spark more furiously. There was a loud whir, and like a burst fuse, it switched off instantly.

“NO!” Carter bellowed furiously.

Sarah Jane was startled out of her ruminations by a loud explosion that rocked the room. “What was that?”

“Sarah Jane!” Cassandra cried out. “Look!”

Sarah Jane looked up to see the ball of energy, with the half-formed Eye of Hades, disappear.

“What happened?” Cassandra asked, snapping Sarah Jane out of her shocked reverie.

“I think… I think my friends did it! They stopped the Memory Weave!”

Before either of them could cheer, another seismic explosion rocked the room, causing Sarah Jane to stumble. The metal bounds restricting Cassandra snapped back into the sofa.

“No time to celebrate,” Sarah Jane decided, hurried forward and tugged the headset off Cassandra’s head, discarding it carelessly behind her. “We have to get you out of here!”

Gently, she helped the terrified woman to her feet, and guided her out of the room. As they stumbled through the hallway, Sarah Jane fished her phone from her jacket pocket.

“Sentinel?”

“Sarah Jane, I’ve found something you’ll want to know.”

“Now isn’t the time. I need you to find Zoe, Beth, Dan and Alfie. Tell them to get out of here as quickly as they can!” Sarah Jane ordered.

“Leave it to me,” Sentinel vowed, and blinked off her screen.

“Looks like your auction’s cancelled,” Zoe said smugly.

“Shut up,” Carter yelled into her ear. Zoe used the opportunity to throw her head back and strike him sharply in the face. Carter recoiled from the blow, and Zoe tried to dart out of the way, but he grabbed her by the hair.

“Not so fast,” he hissed, pulling his knife out of his pouch and pressing it to her throat. “You ruined everything. You all ruined everything!”

“Get off!” Zoe cried out.

“No. If I have to suffer, you have to as well!” He was uncomfortably close to Zoe’s face now, and his words were accentuated by tiny globs of spit. He pushed the knife closer when --

Alfie was by his side in an instant. Silently, he pulled the knife away from Zoe’s throat and threw it across the room, then with surprising agility and strength, shoved the stunned man to the ground, and started punching, and punching, and punching.

Zoe gasped for breath, stumbling away from the scene, trying to control her racing heartbeat, when she caught sight of the computer terminals. They had switched back on, displaying a rather daunting alert sequence, complete with a blaring countdown.

“We gotta go.” She turned around, and froze on the spot in surprise.

Alfie was still pummelling away relentlessly at Carter, who appeared to struggle with keeping the boy at bay. That surprised Zoe. How could a trained operative be overpowered by a teenage boy?

Still the assault continued. Alfie landed blow after blow after blow, his hands moving so fast they were almost a blur. He was drawing a lot of blood from Carter now, who had become suspiciously still. Zoe stepped forward, finally ready to protest, when she glanced at his eyes and froze again.

The primal rage was prevalent in Alfie’s demeanour, exuding off him like an aura of resentment, but Zoe could see something else. His eyes were hollow, glazed over, as if his consciousness was lost somewhere else, somewhere in the past, and his body was running on autopilot.

She could only watch, mystified by the strange reaction, when another timely klaxon from the computer reminded her of the imminent danger. “Alfie,” she said, but her voice fell on deaf ears.

Alfie continued punching away at Carter obliviously, an animalistic snarl escaping his lips.

Zoe glanced over at the computers, panicked, and yelled sharply. “Alfie!”

Her words struck him this time. Alfie blinked rapidly, as if he’d been jolted from a trance, and stared down at the prone body beneath him in confusion. Zoe hurried over and helped him to his feet; she couldn’t help but notice how still Carter was. The older man’s face was bloody and swollen, and there was a cut from his lip to his right cheek where Alfie’s nails had slashed him.

“This place is gonna blow up,” Zoe announced. “Let’s go.”

“But —” Alfie hesitated, staring down at Carter, perplexed. He looked down at his hands, staring at the blood and bruises reticently. Had he done this?

Zoe caught one of his hands, noticing him flinch away as she did so. Looking down, she saw the long, bloody cut running across his palm, and swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I think we’re too late,” she said grimly. “It’s him or us. Come on, we gotta go.”

Alfie nodded, but his gaze didn’t leave the still body. He allowed Zoe to grab his arm and drag him away when he noticed something flash before his eyes. “Hang on,” he said, pulling out of her grasp and shuffling over. He pulled out the object and quickly skimmed over the contents, feeling a weight sink into the pit of his stomach.

“Memory Weave critical,” a monotonous voice intoned, spurring Alfie into action. He stuffed the object into his pocket, and joined Zoe by the basement door. Together, they sprinted up the stairs and down the hallway, leaving the former UINT soldier behind.

Sarah Jane successfully relocated Cassandra a safe distance away from the house, and was stood on the coast, anxiously awaiting for the arrival of her friends. They had been separated for so long, she fretted over the state they would all be in.

“They’ll be fine,” Cassandra assured her sagely from her perch on a rickety old bench. “You have to trust that they are.”

“You’re right,” Sarah Jane agreed. “They usually always are. How are you feeling?”

“A little drained, but I’ll survive,” Cassandra said.

“Sarah Jane!”

Sarah Jane spun around to see Beth limping towards her, supporting Dan. She had her phone in her free hand, most likely using it to get directions from Sentinel.

“What happened?” Sarah Jane asked as she rushed forward, and bore some of Dan’s weight, lightening the burden on Beth.

“Long story,” Dan panted. He looked extremely tired. Sarah Jane briefly wondered if he was ill, but didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“Oi!” Zoe called out, sprinting towards them with Alfie in tow. She looked strangely agitated. “It’s gonna blow!”

They heard the resulting explosion before they felt it. The noise was almost deafening, and took them all by surprise, but they barely had time to react before the house exploded in the distance, prompting them all to fall to the ground and cover their heads out of reflex. Sarah Jane shielded Dan’s head as he was unable to properly bend without crying out in pain.

By the time they all looked up again, a sizeable portion of the house had been blown apart, raining down clumps of broken bricks and glass on the nearby forest. Flames licked at the remaining ruins, and smoke poured into the air like a beacon.

It was strangely cathartic, all things considered, and they all took a moment to morbidly admire the destruction, before a thought struck Sarah Jane, and she tentatively turned to Zoe and Alfie.

“What happened to Carter?” she eventually asked.

Alfie flinched, but it was Zoe who responded. “We couldn’t help him,” she informed Sarah Jane gravely.

Sarah Jane nodded understandingly. “It wasn’t your fault,” she assured them, turning away before she could glimpse Alfie’s troubled expression. Sighing morosely, she said, “It’s a pity we couldn’t help him.”

“You can’t help men like him,” Cassandra spoke up. The group turned to her. She was hunched over, her shawl wrapped protectively around her shoulders. “All those years, those doubts, the lost time… Sophie… I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that, but… oh, god. It’s over.”

Cassandra’s shoulders started to quake, and her eyes welled up with tears. Sarah Jane deposited Dan in Zoe’s waiting arms, hurried over, wrapped her arm around the quivering woman, and rested their heads together to provide some semblance of comfort.

For a while, they remained that way, simply allowing the woman to weep for her lost days, but eventually, Cassandra wiped away her tears, and they decided to get moving.

“How are we gonna get home?” Beth asked as they walked further along the coast. “Sentinel didn’t get us transport.”

“No, I didn’t,” Sentinel harrumphed sulkily, still active on Beth’s phone. “Honestly, you lot expect me to do everything! I do have limits, you know!”

“What is that awful noise?” Cassandra asked.

“Budget Siri,” Alfie responded blankly.

“Wretched kids,” Sentinel grumbled.

“What about this?” Zoe suggested, pulling out Carter’s orb.

Dan gawked at her. “Where’d you get that?”

“Nicked it when Carter was talking to Sarah Jane,” she revealed smugly. “He didn’t even have a clue.”

“Zoe, that’s amazing!” Sarah Jane commended. “This’ll get us off this island in no time!”

“Thank goodness,” Cassandra murmured. “The sooner, the better.”

“Yeah, if you can get it working properly,” Zoe responded, tossing the orb, which Sarah Jane caught effortlessly. “It took us back in time last time. And Carter said it was linked to him… somehow.”

“Iso-something,” Dan supplied.

“Isomorphic. It’s nothing a quick adjustment can’t fix,” Sarah Jane assured them. “Have you got the lipstick?”

“Yup.” Zoe reached into her pocket, pulled out the lipstick, and handed it over.

Sarah Jane thanked her, and spun the orb in her hand thoughtfully. “The Doctor had a problem with isomorphic controls once, so he readjusted my sonic lipstick collection on an occasion to counteract them if I ever needed to, and replace the old biological print with a new one. It comes in extremely handy.”

“A collection?” Cassandra repeated in awe. “As in, more than one?”

“That’s right.”

“Astonishing!”

Sarah Jane zapped the orb, and a few seconds later, announced: “It’s done. Now, if I understand this correctly, I just have to push this button here. You should all stand closer, just in case.”

“Hang on, Sarah Jane,” Sentinel interrupted once the group gathered together. He was still on Beth’s phone, pulsing as steadily as a heartbeat. “I think you should adjust the coordinates.”

“Why?” Sarah Jane asked, surprised by the remark.

“There’s something I think you should all see. It’s about Cassandra.”

“Me?” Cassandra repeated in puzzlement.

Sarah Jane merely nodded, trusting her AI’s instincts. “Lead the way, Sentinel.”

"I can’t do it.”

Sarah Jane turned away from the window to look at Cassandra. They were back on the Camden main street, in a quaint chicken and chips shop. Zoe, Beth, Dan and Alfie were on a separate table, eating and chatting, while the women sat on a table beside the entrance, by the windows.

“I can’t do it,” Cassandra repeated fretfully.

“You can,” Sarah Jane reassured her.

“What if she doesn’t recognise me?”

Sarah Jane looked out the window again. Sentinel had readjusted their course so they all returned to Camden two hours after they’d first arrived. Standing just outside of the shop was a woman, chatting to someone on her phone, a baby in her arms.

The same woman, Sarah Jane realised, who had given them directions to Primrose Hill.

“Sentinel scanned the news reports,” Sarah Jane said. “Sophie died in 2011. That means you’ve only been gone for two years. She’ll recognise you!”

“Two years,” Cassandra murmured. “It hardly sounds like no time at all, but a lot can change in two years. That baby, for instance. I don’t recall her.”

Sarah Jane glanced over at the gurgling baby. “She must have been born after you were gone. Sentinel found her birth record. Her name’s Sophie Cassandra Morgan.”

“Sophie Cassandra Morgan,” Cassandra echoed distantly. “My great-grandchild…” She shook her head. “Oh, it’s hopeless, Sarah Jane. I can’t just spring back into her life again without warning! I’m supposed to be dead!”

“You’re only speculated to be dead,” Sarah Jane retorted. “For all we know, she could still think you’re missing. And your house is gone, you’ll have nowhere else to go.”

Cassandra bit her lip, unconvinced. “But I’m so old now… it’s far too late for me.”

Sarah Jane shook her head, and took Cassandra’s hands into her own. “Listen to me. For years, I was alone, too, with only my dog for company. And just like you, I thought it was far too late to find someone. But I was wrong. It’s never too late. Not even…”

Her breath caught in her throat and she took a moment to steady herself.

“Not even after you’ve lost someone special. Someone who made your whole world shine. They taught me that.” She nodded towards the teenagers. Zoe had accidentally squirted an excessive amount of chili sauce onto her chips and managed to stain her hoodie as a result. The entire table erupted in laughter at her shocked expression.

“Never too late?” Cassandra voiced uncertainly.

Sarah Jane smiled fondly at her friends’ antics, and gave Cassandra’s hands a reassuring squeeze. “It’s never too late,” she repeated firmly.

“But, everything Carter did, everything I’ve been through...”

“It won’t be easy,” Sarah Jane truthfully. “It’ll be very difficult, but I know you can do it. And, one day, it’ll get easier. But none of that can happen unless you try.”

Cassandra stared at the woman outside the shop again, still arguing over the phone with Sentinel — whom Sarah Jane had tasked with keeping her occupied until they were ready — with a conflicted gaze. Eventually, she nodded resolutely and said, “I’ll do it. I can’t let everything that happened bring me down.”

“That’s brilliant!” Sarah Jane encouraged.

Cassandra smiled sympathetically at her. “I’m sorry about Sky.”

Sarah Jane smiled sadly. “I’m sorry about Sophie. I suppose we’re both going to have to make do.”

“Indeed,” Cassandra ruminated. She shook her head and rose to her feet. “Thank you, Sarah Jane, for saving me.”

With that, she waved goodbye to the teenagers, left the shop and shuffled after her granddaughter, Elisabeth, who had already hung up the phone in frustration and was across the road. It was a miracle she hadn’t hung up sooner.

“D’you think she’ll catch up?” Beth wondered.

Sarah Jane considered her statement and scraped her chair backwards, signalling for her friends to do the same. They all hurried out of the shop, to help the reunion get underway if they had to, but screeched to a halt outside. Cassandra had thankfully caught up to Elisabeth, and managed to attract her attention. They all watched with bated breath as Elisabeth turned around, and her eyes lit up with recognition.

For a moment, everybody was rigidly still, waiting for a reaction. Eventually, Elisabeth whispered something, received a nod of confirmation from Cassandra, and burst into tears, scooping down to wrap an arm tightly around her long-lost grandmother.

Zoe cheered. “Good thing Sentinel found her or she’d have been stuffed.”

Sarah Jane smiled. “I don’t think he would have managed if Alfie hadn’t stopped her in the streets earlier.”

“Oh, yeah,” Beth said, turning to the younger boy. “You did good.”

Alfie smiled thinly at her, but didn’t comment.

Elisabeth and Cassandra had separated, and moved to a bench to converse. Baby Sophie even sat on her great-grandmother’s lap. Sarah Jane tore her gaze away from the happy reunion, and smiled at her friends. “Come on, you lot. Let’s go home.”

“Just like that?” Beth asked, knowingly.

“Just like that,” Sarah Jane confirmed. They all turned and walked up the street, leaving their new friend behind with her family.

“D’you think she’ll be all right?” Zoe asked, glancing back at Cassandra.

“I think they’re all going to be just fine,” Sarah Jane said confidently.

“What about all that alien tech on the island?” Dan asked worriedly. He looked relatively healthier now that he had eaten some food. “What if someone finds it while on a boating trip or something?”

“I’ll get UNIT to clear it up,” Sarah Jane assured him.

“They have UNIT in Devon?” Alfie spoke for the first time in a while.

“They have UNIT everywhere,” Zoe said flippantly.

“What about everybody who was gonna come to the auction?” Beth asked. “We heard about it over the communicator.”

“We have the orb now, they wouldn’t be able to get to the island if they tried. Besides, they’ve probably retreated. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“We found a guest list,” Beth revealed, pulling the crumpled ball of paper from her pocket and handing it over to Sarah Jane.

Sarah Jane unfolded the paper with a frown, and skimmed over the names while the teenagers clambered into the car. Her frown deepened when she noticed a particular name. “Interesting.”

“What?” Zoe asked immediately.

Sarah Jane pocketed the paper and slipped into the driver’s seat. “I’ll have to make a call when we get home.”

“Who’re you calling?”

“A friend in Cardiff.” Sarah Jane snapped her seat belt on and was ready to start the engine when —

“What about Carter?” Alfie asked. “D’you reckon he’s dead?”

“I don’t know,” Sarah Jane admitted. “It’s most likely.”

“We found this in the basement.” He pulled something out of his pocket and passed it over to Sarah Jane, who felt her stomach twist anxiously.

“He said that one of you knew why he was holding the auction in the first place,” Sarah Jane said carefully.

“I think he meant me,” Zoe said.

Sarah Jane turned to her. “Did you find something, Zoe?”

“Yeah. Before he grabbed me, I was in the library. I think he was sleeping in there. There wasn’t anything weird, but… there was a blue dummy.”

Sarah Jane sighed heavily, and looked down at the object in her hands. It was a photograph of Carter, laughing happily, with an arm wrapped around a petite woman pointing at the camera for the benefit of the baby in her arms, but the sulky baby was interested in something to the left, out of the camera’s view.

“So maybe he had his reasons,” she said, “but that doesn’t excuse or atone him of anything.”

“And what about them?” Beth said. “Whoever they are, d’you think we should tell them?”

“I think they’re better off not knowing.”

“What?” Dan protested. “Carter was a psycho, but we can’t hide that from them —”

“Yeah, well, we’re going to,” Sarah Jane snapped. She adjusted her tone when her friends fell silent. “I’m sorry, Dan. But we can’t. It’d only spark too many questions. Questions we wouldn’t be able to answer without creating more questions. We’ll leave it to UNIT.”

“Sure,” Dan said glumly.

Sarah Jane sighed. “It’s been a long day. Let’s go home.”

As she tucked the day’s mementos away into her pockets, started the engine and drove out of Camden, Sarah Jane hoped she wasn’t making a big mistake.

The journey back to the village was spent in a reflective silence, with each member of the gang trying to reconcile the day’s events in their heads. Before they knew it, they were back in Essex, and soon, Foxgrove.

“Could you drop me off here?” Zoe requested once they entered the outskirts of the village centre, Fox Plaza. “I gotta go pick up a book from a friend."

"Yeah, I’m gonna walk home as well,” Beth announced.

“Er,” Dan said, attracting everybody’s attention. He was in the passenger seat, looking nervous. “Nah, never mind.”

“Are you all right, Dan?” Sarah Jane asked, frowning.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” Dan mumbled, taking off his seatbelt and opening the car door. Zoe and Beth shared a strange look, and also took off their seatbelts, when Dan flew back into his seat anxiously. “Actually…”

“Bloody hell,” Zoe huffed. “Make up your mind!”

Sarah Jane looked concerned. “Is something the matter?”

“No. Yeah…” Dan reconsidered. “... Yes..” He took a breath, and sank further into the seat. ... I’m sick.”

“Yeah,” Beth said, “you told me. Haggis, right?”

“No,” Dan interjected, shaking his head sullenly. “This is new… different. Last week, when I was up in Scotland, I got tired. Really tired. I even fainted — I never faint!”

Zoe closed one eye and hummed teasingly. “Debatable.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Dan’s lips. “Shut up,” he said. “Anyway, my mum and dad got worried and took me to hospital. They did some scans and… and...”

“Dan?” Beth called out nervously.

“It’s weird saying it out loud,” Dan said. A huff of nervous laughter escaped from his lips, and he was suddenly very twitchy. His hands wouldn’t stop fiddling with the leather of the seat, his eyes darting around the car like a caged animal. “Knowing it was okay, I guess, but…” Dan shook his head.

“It’s all right,” Sarah Jane reassured him.

“I’ve got a hole in my heart,” Dan finally announced, and he had to bite his lip to prevent himself from crying out, though a stray tear ran down his cheek. The atmosphere in the car was suddenly very cold, and very tense. Even Alfie looked up in shock.

“What?” Beth said.

“Yeah.” Dan gulped. “‘I’ve always had it, apparently, but they didn’t find it until —” he cut himself off, wrapped his hands around the back of his head, brought his legs up and curled into a ball.

“Oh, Dan,” Sarah Jane said sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t think,” Dan murmured. “I didn’t think about it ‘cos I thought it’d go away, but then today…. today I thought I was gonna die. And it’s different. Different from Sontarans or Slitheen or Cybermen, ‘cos this isn’t something I can fight. This is my fault. I don’t wanna die.”

“No, you mustn’t think like that!” Sarah Jane said immediately. “What you’re going through is terrible, but it is not your fault in any way. This is something we can’t control, but it is something that can be fought. And I’m not going to let you die, you hear me? What is it that you’re suffering from, exactly?”

Dan peeked up at her from his defensive ball, and shrugged. “I dunno, I wasn’t really listening. Some defect. Sep-something.”

“Septal defect?” Sarah Jane inquired.

“Yeah, I think.”

“And it’s small?”

Again, he shrugged. “I guess?”

“Then we can work with that! Sentinel?” Sarah Jane announced, pulling out her phone. All four teenagers curiously crowded around her, awaiting the prognosis.

There was a whir, and then Sentinel said, “There are several instances where small septal defects such as your own have closed up over time.”

“What about medicine?” Zoe asked. “Can you cure it?”

“Not immediately. Dan, has the doctor recommended you for surgery?”

Dan shook his head. “No.”

“Have they prescribed you medicine?”

“No, but she sent an email over to some doctor here in the village to check up on me. Why?” he asked hopefully. “Will it stop hurting me?”

“It’ll control the symptoms so it’s not as painful. If all that fails, they’ll recommend you for surgery.”

Dan failed to suppress a nervous shiver. “Great,” he said meekly.

“That’s only a last resort, if all else fails,” Sarah Jane gently reminded him. “You’ve already got an appointment, that’s good. Go to it, see what the doctor says. Then you’ll know what to do close it up.”

“Yeah, but what about then?” Dan asked. “What if some alien invades while I’m at home? I can’t just sit around.”

Sarah Jane placed a hand on his shoulder. “Your health is more important. And you’ll still have a part with us, no matter what.”

“It wouldn’t be the same,” he said sullenly.

“Maybe not, but nothing ever truly stays the same, does it? We’ll take one step at a time. See how things go. Okay?”

“Okay,” Dan sighed. He nervously turned to Zoe and Beth. “What about you guys? You’re not gonna ditch me now, are you?”

Beth laughed. “You wish.”

“Yeah,” Zoe agreed, and playfully punched his shoulder. “You can’t lose us just like that.”

Dan smiled and rolled his eyes. “If only.” He rubbed at his eyes to wipe away the tears and sniffed. “I told Felix,” he admitted.

“And how did he take it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Dunno. I ran away from him.”

“That’s why you looked lost when you came to the garage?” Zoe surmised.

“Yeah,” Dan said. “I gotta go and say sorry. Hope he doesn’t kill me.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Sarah Jane assured him. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Zoe, Beth and Dan left the Mini Cooper, waved goodbye, and dispersed into separate directions. Sarah Jane turned around to see Alfie still lounging in his seat.

“Right, what can I do you for?” she asked.

“Drop me off home,” Alfie said. He had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire journey. The adventure must have gotten to him.

Sarah Jane nodded. “Okay.”

Beth poked her head through the door, and stepped into the house. It was blissfully quiet. Her mother was at work, and Laurel was in school all day rehearsing for some play. Her latest aspiration of the month was to become an actress.

Beth walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. She dropped Dan’s poster on the desk — intending to put it up next to her other posters later — and looked around. Her manga collection had been untouched, with the book Zoe loaned her sitting atop them; her laptop was still on the edge of her bed, where she’d left it last week after she and Zoe marathoned Game of Thrones; her bed was made, even though she’d left it a sprawling mess in the morning.

Despite Chrystal’s best efforts, Beth still refused to talk to her, and her insistence on rummaging around the room — even if it was for purely altruistic reasons — didn’t exactly score her brownie points. Sighing heavily, Beth collapsed onto her bed, seeking out her Levi plushie and holding it close to her chest, absently staring up at the ceiling, thinking. Sometimes she wondered if she thought too much.

She tilted her head to the left, towards the desk, and stared at the clay sculpture she’d crafted sometime last year. It was ugly, and weirdly structured, like an abstract structure she couldn’t quite get her head around, but it reminded her of Melody, constantly, without fail.

Beth looked away. Life with Melody had been a simpler time, without as many complications, but it was also a reminder of how everything had changed.

Dan raised his hand, and froze, standing outside the door like an inanimate statue. A million different thoughts raced through his head, multiple scenarios that nagged and worried him. Was he too late? Would he want to see him? Would he be able to get the words out?

Was this all a mistake?

Before he could make a decision, the door flew open and Felix bounded out on one-foot, attempting to tie his shoelaces with a packet of crisps wedged in his mouth, and a basketball in his arm. He bumped straight into the surprised Dan, and looked up in alarm.

“Sor —” he trailed off, and stared in open-mouthed surprise. The crisp packet fell unceremoniously between his feet, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Dan!”

“Hey,” Dan squeaked nervously. “Sorry, you look busy. I’ll come back later.”

“No!” Felix cried out, reconsidered, and coughed awkwardly. “I mean… it’s fine. We can talk now.”

Dan eyed the basketball sceptically. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Felix affirmed. “You wanna talk?”

“Yup.”

“Then let’s talk.” Felix closed the door behind him and followed Dan faithfully. They stepped off the porch, trudged down the front garden, and hopped onto the fence. Felix spoke once they were settled. “What’s up? You’re all right, yeah? It’s not your heart?”

“No,” Dan was quick to reassure him. “It’s not that. It’s just that… I basically wanted to say sorry.”

“For what?”

“Earlier,” Dan clarified. “Coming back here after the car was blown up, it messed me up a bit.”

“Yeah,” Felix agreed. “Me too.”

“And with all the stuff with my heart, and then hearing about you moving… it was too much.”

“Hey,” Felix said gently. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” Dan murmured sadly. “I was sad. I am sad. We only just got together and you’re already going.”

“Gonna miss me?” Felix asked with a teasing smirk, playfully bumping Dan’s shoulder.

A small smile flickered on Dan’s face. “‘Course I will. Who’s gonna beat Chris in basketball now?”

Felix considered the question. “Alfie?”

Dan hummed. “Maybe.”

They both laughed at the idea. Once they calmed down, Dan looked at Felix, and Felix looked at Dan.

Neither of them knew who initiated the kiss, but the next thing they knew, they were pressed together. It was tentative, almost shy, but it was the best feeling in the world. Once they pulled away, they grinned at each other.

“I wanna do something,” Dan announced abruptly.

Felix’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Dan rolled his eyes, and nudged his elbow.

“Not that.” He hopped off the fence and spun around, with his arms spread wide. “I wanna spend loads of time with you.”

“Doing what?”

“Anything,” Dan proclaimed. “Anything you want, or I want, let’s do it.”

For a moment, Felix was speechless. His mouth flapped open and closed like a goldfish, until he developed enough coherent thought to utter a simple “huh.” He hopped off the fence and stood in front of Dan. “What’s this about?”

Dan smiled shyly as he reached over and held Felix’s hand. “You’re gonna be gone soon.”

“We don’t know when we’re leaving —”

“Still,” Dan interjected. “Gotta make the most of it, right?”

A smile slowly crept onto Felix’s face. “Right,” he confirmed, slinging an arm around Dan’s shoulder. “And I know the first thing I want.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Dan leaned in eagerly. "Chips?”

Felix scowled at him. “Chips?! No way, I want ice cream.”

“It’s the middle of winter,” Dan protested.

Felix scoffed. “So?”

“Thought you were busy?” Dan challenged.

“Plans change,” Felix said airily, and kissed his forehead. Dan pretended to look disgruntled, but he couldn’t help but smile as they walked away from the house.

“You know, this is starting to become a habit for me.”

Sarah Jane looked up at the top of the hill to see a man nonchalantly leaning against a tree, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his greatcoat, rocking back and forth on the heels of his brown boots.

“Clandestine meetings on hills. Whew. I’m starting to lose count.” He saluted once Sarah Jane reached the top of the hill, respect glowing in his bright blue eyes. “Ma’am. It’s a pleasure, as always.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Sarah Jane said, trying not to reveal how flattered she truly was. “But I’m afraid this isn’t a social call.”

Captain Jack Harkness chuckled. “With you, it never is. Shall we?”

Sarah Jane nodded. Together, they walked over to the nearby bench and took a seat. Once they were settled, she held up a carton as an offer. “Coffee?”

“No, thanks. I don’t drink coffee anymore,” Jack said. He was grinning, but there was pain laced in his voice. It was a dull and faint pain, but still detectable. He looked out at the village spread out below him. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes,” Sarah Jane agreed, “it is. And it’s mine to protect.”

“I heard about your encounter with the Surveyors. I was very impressed.”

“Thank you. The Doctor didn’t exactly sing you any praises.”

Jack snorted. “He never does. How is he?”

“Ran away to deal with the threat without saying goodbye.”

“Ha. Sounds just like him.”

Sarah Jane hummed. “I still have a question, Captain.”

“Of course.”

“What do you know about Retention Island?” Sarah Jane glanced over at Jack. His gaze was still fixed on the village below, his expression relaxed and at ease, but she could sense the tension in his muscles.

“Retention island?” Jack asked casually.

“Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes, Jack,” Sarah Jane said warningly. “I know you were involved in some way.”

Jack sighed. “Fine.” He leaned back against the bench. “I didn’t know about the island, not at first. I was researching another case, which involved the Doctor somehow. But when I dug deeper, I realised that both cases were connected, so I started looking into that as well. Someone from UNIT approached me. The hard-ass kind. Said that we should collaborate. I agreed, if only to keep Kate off my back. We dug even deeper, and that’s when we realised Carter Carmichael was involved.”

“You know him?”

“Relatively,” Jack clarified. “We had an… encounter. But this acquaintanceship allowed me inside access. I was getting ready to unfurl the project from the inside, when Klein swung by and told me UNIT had got an anonymous tip saying the situation was already taken care of.” Jack smiled admiringly at her. “You do get around.”

“What was this other case?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I’m tracking this powerful group who have had influence over Torchwood,” he explained. “I got a trace, so I thought I’d check it out. But I was too late. I’d travelled to 2011, and everything was destroyed. I couldn’t go backwards in time. The area was time-locked. But I did find something.”

“What?”

He held out his wrist. Sarah Jane looked down to see his vortex manipulator displaying several readings, and images of large, bulky dogs with blood red eyes and gnashing fangs. “Ripped it from the computer. May have destroyed it in the process. I don’t know what they are, but it’s definitely engineered.”

“By this group you’re tracking?”

“Maybe.” Jack didn’t sound very convinced. “There were traces of immense heat. It messed with my scans.”

Sarah Jane frowned thoughtfully. “Strange.”

“You’re telling me,” Jack agreed. His manipulator started beeping. He looked down and swore under his breath. “Er, I gotta go.”

“Trouble?” Sarah Jane guessed.

“You know it.” Jack winked. “Life is so much easier now that I have this working.”

“I thought you were going to give it up to UNIT?”

“Bequeath,” Jack corrected. “And I’m considering it. Martha keeps nagging me. So I made her deal. If I die one more time while she’s around, I’ll hand it over to Kate.”

“How is she?”

Jack beamed. “Brilliant. She and Mickey send their condolences. They remember that day well, and thank you for saving Rita. And… I’m sorry too.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

He saluted. “Until next time, ma’am.”

“Send them my love,” Sarah Jane managed to say before Jack vanished in a blink of light.

“Fred, man,” Zoe growled into the phone as she stormed down the street. “Why aren’t you home? I want my book!”

“I’m on a date, you roadman,” Fred retorted.

“Do I care,” Zoe said bluntly. “Pass me my book.”

Fred kissed his teeth. “Later.”

Zoe was preparing to shout profanities at him when she heard a loud, resounding beep. She looked up to realise she was walking in the middle of the road, and a car was hurtling towards her at great speeds.

Before she could react, however, a steady arm wrapped securely around her waist and dragged her away from danger, pulling her to the side of the road. Zoe stumbled, but managed to steady herself, and turned around to see the car whiz down the road.

“Loser,” she grumbled under her breath. She was preparing to leave, when she realised someone was standing patiently next to her. A woman, with shoulder-length brown hair and twinkling eyes, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans. “Oh,” Zoe said. “Hi.”

“Hello,” the woman said with a smile. “You okay?”

“Er, yeah.”

The woman nodded. “Good. You ought to be more careful on the road.”

It suddenly clicked in Zoe’s mind that this woman had been the person who rescued her. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks for…” she gestured towards the road, “helping me.”

“No problem.” The woman walked away with a chuckle, turning around to wave goodbye a few seconds later without breaking stride. “Stay safe.”

“I will,” Zoe replied awkwardly. Once the woman rounded the corner and disappeared from view, she looked down at her phone and realised Fred had hung up. “Moron,” she muttered with a scowl.

Alfie dribbled the basketball, his eyes fixed on the net. He advanced slowly, confidently, prowling around the backyard — his arena — like an experienced athlete.

He lunged forward with precision, leapt into the air, both hands pressed tightly around the ball, when a searing pain shot up his arm. He cried out, and dropped unceremoniously to the ground, the basketball bouncing across the garden before coming to a stop inside Gita’s flowerbed of prized carnations. She had bandaged up his hand, Alfie recalled, without asking questions. In fact, she hadn't said anything at all. She’d wrapped his hand in some kind of fabric to prevent infection, smiled at him, and touched his cheek.

“It’s a good thing Haresh is visiting Rani,” she had quipped. “I’m going over there now. Want to join me?”

“Nah,” Alfie had said. Gita had left it at that, and departed in her van, leaving him to his own devices.

Alfie sat down on the porch, and steadily unwrapped the bandage, staring at the slash mark across his palm intently. Everything had been a blur. He remembered Carter holding a knife to Zoe’s throat, and the next thing he knew he was kneeling over him with bloody hands.

I battered him, he thought. I ain’t a batterer.

He had been so shocked by the incident that he’d hardly eaten. He hadn’t meant to attack him so violently. He hadn’t intended to go so overboard.

I ain’t a batterer.

So why did he feel so guilty?

I ain’t a batterer.

Despite the conviction, Alfie didn't have the heart to believe his own words. He put his head in his hands, and tore at the strands, forcing himself to remain calm. It wasn’t his fault.

A firm hand rested atop his head, and a smooth male voice with an accent said, “Welcome home, Alfie.”

Alfie’s head shot up, but there was no one in front of him. He looked around the garden, but there was nobody about.

He was alone.

Sarah Jane pulled the Mini Cooper into the driveway and turned off the ignition. “Sentinel,” she said tiredly. “Remind me to call Kate in the morning to properly explain the situation. It’s been a long day.”

“You want me to make you some tea as well, Batman?” Sentinel asked sarcastically.

“A cuppa wouldn’t go amiss,” Sarah Jane said.

“The nerve, making me, the highly intelligent AI, a butler,” Sentinel huffed, and vanished from the screen. Sarah Jane smiled a half-smile, tucking her phone into her pocket and stepping out of the car. She’d park it in the garage later, when she wasn’t so exhausted.

She stared up at the house. For months, it hadn’t felt like a home, and although her friends changed that for her, when everything was said and done at the end of the day, she always ended up alone.

She sighed heavily, and trudged through the garden, towards the front door. She searched her pockets for the keys, but gave up searching, and just zapped the door open with the sonic lipstick instead. Slamming it shut behind her, she intended to head straight for the kitchen, to make herself a cup of tea, when her foot hit something.

“Oh!” she cried out in surprise, and looked down to see a red eye blinking at her, the antennae shaped like ears wagging cheerily.

“Mistress,” it chirruped in its robotic, computerised tone.

“K9!” Sarah Jane gasped, kneeling down in front of the dog, patting the side of its metal head. “What on Earth are you doing here?”

“I brought him here.”

Sarah Jane looked up to see a young man stride out of the kitchen with two mugs of tea. Luke Smith smiled kindly at her.

“Hi, mum,” he said, setting the cups down on a nearby table. “Surprise!”

“Luke!” Sarah Jane rose from her crouch and embraced her son, who hugged her back, just as tightly. A minute later, she pulled away.

Luke looked down at her sapphire necklace, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That’s nice,” he said, running his fingers along the gold chain-link. “Where’d you get this?”

“It was a gift,” Sarah Jane said. “But I don’t understand. What are you doing here?”

“We thought you’d be lonely, so we decided to drop by,” Luke revealed.

“Oh, I’m fine, really,” Sarah Jane said unconvincingly.

K9 trundled forward, and scanned her, his eye poking out of his socket. “Sensors indicate you are lying, Mistress.”

Sarah Jane glared mutiously at him. “Shut up, you.”

“Mum,” Luke said, catching her attention. He squeezed her hands comfortingly. “I miss her too.”

Sarah Jane’s shoulders sagged. “Oh, Luke,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around him again. Luke did the same. Time trickled by, but they didn’t let go. The hug was cathartic for Sarah Jane. It provided her with an outlet for all the emotions she had bottled up inside her. She sighed happily, and let go of him. “Thank you.”

“I left you messages. So did Maria, Clyde and Rani.”

“I know,” Sarah Jane said guiltily. “I’m sorry, but I just… couldn’t face it. Not yet, at least.”

“Research indicates grief lessens over an extended period of time,” K9 posited.

“Thank you, K9,” Sarah Jane sighed. “Tell you what, seeing as you’re here, why don’t you and Sentinel put your chess match on hold and do a little research for me?”

K9 waggled his tail. “This unit is capable of performing extensive research,” he trilled.

“That’s what I’m counting on. Listen, the both of you, I want you to gather everything you can on the Eyes of Hades. Can you do that?”

“Affirmative.”

“I guess,” Sentinel huffed sulkily, having materialised on the television in the living room. “I never get a break.”

“You never get a break?” Sarah Jane huffed incredulously, but Sentinel had already disappeared off the screen.

“What’s the Eyes of Hades?” Luke asked curiously, handing Sarah Jane a mug.

“I don’t quite know,” she said as she gratefully took the cup. “But I just had to stop someone who was intent on selling them to the highest bidder.”

“Sounds busy,” Luke noted.

“Mm,” Sarah Jane agreed. They both walked into the lounge and sat on the sofa. “It’s funny, for some reason, it reminded me of something.”

“What?”

“A long time ago, back in 1992 or 1993, your uncle Brendan travelled the world, just before he moved to Silicon Valley for his job with your uncle Travis.”

Luke glanced over at the row of photographs on the windowsill, seeking out a specific picture. Brendan Richards had been the ward of Sarah Jane’s Aunt Lavinia. She always said that he had an irritating laugh, but Luke got the impression she was secretly very fond of him. Travis was his partner of twenty-three years.

“One day, they came to visit me, and they brought something on their travels to put in his collection. He was always into that sort of thing,” Sarah Jane continued, snapping Luke out of his thoughts. “It was a beautiful gemstone. None of us knew what it was at the time, but I remember this beautiful purple glow. I took my breath away. I'd forgotten all about it until today.”

“Maybe you should get in touch,” Luke suggested. “See if he can dig it up from his collection.”

“Maybe,” Sarah Jane considered. “I’ll try later. It’s not urgent. Besides, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Zoe, Beth, Dan and Alfie. Have you met Alfie yet?”

“No, not yet,” Luke admitted.

“Maybe later,” Sarah Jane said. “Anyways, you, tell me how the house hunting is going.”

Luke laughed at his mum’s reliable inquisitiveness. “We’ve put off buying the flat for now. Me and Sanjay, we were thinking of maybe moving in together after uni. Not straight away, but when we’ve got jobs and that.”

“That’s brilliant,” Sarah Jane encouraged. She smiled at him fondly, and placed a hand on his cheek. “You’re so grown up now. Sometimes it feels like I only found you yesterday.”

“Well, it hasn’t,” Luke smiled. “It’s been one-thousand, nine-hundred and five days.”

Sarah Jane tutted and lightly swatted his arm. “Cheek!” They both laughed at that. When Sarah Jane sobered, she looked at him. “When do you have to get back?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Always gone too soon,” she said sadly. “Oh, Luke, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too."

“Yes, but it’s not the same. You have so many things to occupy you. And I have my friends, but at the end of the day, nobody’s left! Last year was different. Last year, everything was new and exciting and I had Melody. And now even she’s gone, like Sky.” She sighed sadly. “I miss her. I miss them both.”

“Even the electricity bill every time Sky overloaded something?” Luke asked teasingly.

Sarah Jane laughed at the memory. “Okay, maybe not that.”

“It’s okay to miss her,” Luke said sagely. “I miss her too! But she’s still out there, somewhere, making sure the Trickster can never hurt anyone ever again.”

“You’re right,” Sarah Jane nodded. “I’m so proud of her. I’m proud of you all.”

Luke grinned. “Why don’t we watch something while I’m here?”

Sarah Jane nodded. “I don’t see why not. What did you have in mind?”

Luke reached behind the cushion and pulled out the Toy Story box-set.

“Oh,” Sarah Jane sighed, and shook her head. “You’ve been going through the attic.”

“Yeah,” Luke smiled sheepishly. “It was Sentinel’s idea.”

“Was it now,” she said pointedly, making a mental note to lecture the AI.

“So, mum, can we?” Luke asked hopefully.

Sarah Jane sighed. “Oh, go on then. Why not?”

The wide grin on his face warmed Sarah Jane’s heart. She watched him fondly as he inserted the first disc into the DVD player, and hurried back to the sofa excitedly, ruminating over how empty and meaningless her life would be without Luke.

He looked over at her, his gaze questioning. Sarah Jane just smiled, and tousled his hair. Luke grinned, and shuffled to her side, resting his head on her shoulder, just like he did when they used to watch movies when he first came to live with her.

The film’s opening credits started playing. Sarah Jane caught a glimpse of the discarded box-set, and noticed the scrawled words were visible.

Skys room

She smiled, and rested her head on Luke’s.

She thought of Cassandra, and how the woman had found happiness again, and recalled that she too had rediscovered the joys of living. Through Luke; through Maria, Clyde and Rani, and through Melody, Zoe, Beth, Dan and Alfie.

No matter the distance, or the separate dimensional planes they both existed on, Sky Smith would always have a place in Sarah Jane's home, and her heart.

Series 7 Episode 15
A Hand to Hold
Part One
Written by Zoe Lance

The Sarah Jane Adventures returns next week in The Oyster Paradigm...

Series 7 Episode 15A Hand to Hold​Part OneWritten by Zoe Lance

The Sarah Jane Adventures returns next week in The Oyster Paradigm...

Series 7 Episode 15
A Hand to Hold
Part One
Written by Zoe Lance